Twilight of the Gods
by MoonPrincess623
Summary: Isabella Jackson, twin to Percy Jackson, has found herself after helping Lady Artemis save the world in Forks on the request of her uncle Charlie, son of Hekate. She was to investigate these special vampires and decide if they were a threat. She finds a mate and friends but her future only b/cs more cloudy as she has to choose between one mate and the world. To destroy or save.
1. Chapter 1

**Moon Says: **So this is the edited version, posted after chapter 2 is written. Wow, so many things have changed since I first started writing this. It's a good thing I edited this first as I've got a few things to change in chapter 2. Anyway, like I warned in chapter 2, there are going to be some things that don't make sense, bear with me, okay?

**Words/Pages: **10778/19 pages

**Twilight of the Gods**

**~Chapter 1~**

I was getting tired of playing a girl who somehow went from an independent nature to one of submissive weakness. I was here on a Quest that the others couldn't do. Fuck me sideways was it getting boring.

My uncle Charlie, a Son of Hekate, had asked me to come down when he saw these Vampires invade his town. Cold One type Vampires, not like those others my twin and I had battle that preyed on men and demi-gods alike. These in Forks didn't seem to target humans, at least the ones here pretending to be human.

Here I was playing his "daughter" Isabella Marie Swan. But really, my name is Isabella Marie Jackson. Charlie didn't have a daughter, but he did have a sister that once went by the name Sally Swan, but she changed to her mother's maiden name after she moved away from Forks. She didn't want monsters coming after her to use her against her brother. Mother wasn't a Demigod, but she had two.

Of course, it was a bit interesting when I learned that the Cullens did have some Demigods amongst their number—and the other four didn't even know! They knew who I was as soon as they walked into that lunch room and I them. That had been fun exercise in control.

I may have been a daughter of the Sea, but I had been blessed by Hekate due to the closeness I had with one of her favorite children (my uncle), and thus, I had the ability to see what most did not—that and I had a way with Mist. To everyone hear I had brown hair and eyes, but really, I had black hair and sea green eyes.

I think that is what they call a Legacy (or Chosen), but I'm not so sure.

My Quest was to investigate and learn about these types of Vampires. Despite having been created centuries ago, Demigods didn't know much about them as most of these Cold Ones didn't come near us. That or we stayed away from them. For my Quest objective, I lucked up when three nomads decided to make me lunch.

That had been a trying experience. Try having every bit of you wanting to fight, could fight, and having to depend on others and act like a weak child. I hated it.

I was seventeen when I first came here at the beginning of January, but the summer was close approaching, and I knew something big was about to happen. Luke always waited until summer for his plans. During what happened with Lady Artemis and her First (let me tell you, what I did to the bastard who killed his own daughter was not pretty—I think Ares was impressed with me and so was Mr. D), I had a second to ask Luke the question that always burned at me.

_Luke had looked around at the battle going on around us and then at me before he laughed darkly. His wild eyes had softened, and he answered my question on a promise that I don't change—that I still keep some of my naivety and innocence even when surrounded by so much death and sorrow. He had always been amused by the fact that I would ask weird stuff whenever it popped into my head, especially if I was in the middle of a fight. _

"_Little Mermaid," he started, "I've done it during the summer so that you and some of the other Halfbloods have a chance to go to school, to rest, to experience just a little bit more before darkness tries to swallow us hole once again."_

I missed Luke, and even if he had turned against the Gods, he was still the first one to ever see me. And I struggled every day fighting to join him because a part of me wondered if I could save him. Annabeth hated that Luke paid more attention to me, cared more for me, and I hadn't even known him long. For a Daughter of Athena, she wasn't that smart. Luke liked the Chaos of my soul. He was attracted to it. That Son of Hermes like the confliction burning within me: he liked how dark I could be but was fascinated with the light that balanced me out. Luke wanted his light to balance him, but his darkness was too powerful.

It was something I needed to ask Lord Hermes or Lord Apollo about. Maybe there was a way I could reach him without following into my own darkness. That was one reason why I never joined Luke: I was afraid his darkness would taint too much of my light. And it was that very reason he always hesitated to offer me any opportunity to join him. Luke was afraid of it as well.

It showed me in those moments of refusal that he cared about me—deeply.

"What has your thoughts and emotions so conflicted?" a light but deep voice whispered to me as I found myself on a couch with a book in my hand, Emmett playing video games, Rose reading a magazine about cars, and Jasper…he was focused on me as I came out of my mind.

I could never get anything past him. Maybe the brilliant gifts from his mother could help me; he was a Son of Athena after all. Before I could say something, a thought popped into my head and I followed it—just like Luke made me promise.

Before I could think about helping Luke, I needed something. I turned to Rose. "I need you to use every ounce of your brain, ο φίλος μου," I said as I got her attention. "I need some armor designed that I am going to bribe Ares to look over and someone how get your dad to make."

Rose just raised an eyebrow. "I've been waiting for this request. I've seen the armor you women wear, and it's ugly and useless. You need something that could blend in with the mortals but still be functional. Armor isn't good only at camp; your Quests usually aren't there. If Ares agrees to help by suggesting material and such, I will get dad or one of my siblings in camp to make it."

The darkness of my thoughts started to slip away. I wonder if she had already been preparing for my request already. I knew I could count on Rose, Daughter of Hephaestus and Blessed (or is it Legacy) of Aphrodite. This girl was one combination that many had deemed impossible, but maybe because of her impossible birth, she was favored by both her parents. Really, one of the only things they could agree on.

Emmett eyed the two women in the room with suspicion. "Am I going to not like this outfit?" the Son of Ares asked. I had thought right away that he was a Son of Hermes because of how mischief seemed to follow him around, but he was actually a Son of Ares. He loved fighting too much to be anything else, but with that mischief…maybe that was the point, the best strategy, after all, was to throw people off.

His mate shrugged. "It'll be hot but not showing much skin. I'm going for coverage, but what that coverage reveals…" she shrugged again.

Jasper just chuckled and asked me the same question from before, making some of the emotions return. "I was thinking about Luke. I want to save him. I owe him a debt I need to repay," Percy and I didn't know what we were till Charlie let it slip when we were eight, but the manipulation of the Mist helped us keep ourselves safe until we turned fourteen and everything started going ass up. We kept it together until two years later when Luke stole the Master Bolt. That was when we started getting into this world.

Now, I was almost eighteen, and I knew something big was about to happen. The next to last play was what my gut was telling me.

Luke had saved me from myself when we had come to camp. I had been so lost feeling so weak and useless compared to my brother, but he brought me out of it. He taught me how to defend myself, how to embrace some of the darkness to save myself and those around me. Around camp, I was known as the Dark Twin. Someone needed to be it, Percy was just too good. It was Luke that made me see that. In this world, you had to have some darkness to stay alive. And if I had to embrace more than my share to save Percy and keep him whole and light, I'd do it without a second thought. But like Luke said, I couldn't become consumed.

"How do I save him, Jasper, without…ending up like him?" I was almost crying because I felt such desperation to help the blonde boy I had come to care for just as much as Percy—and that scared me right there.

Jasper pulled me into his lap, rocked me till I calmed down, and then he just held me. Silence passed and all I heard was the video game Emmett had on. He wasn't stupid; while he loved me and wanted to help, he knew that this was something I needed Jasper's help with. Rose was busy keeping an eye on me, watching in case I needed a girl, and the other to designing my armor.

"You think joining him is the answer?" Jasper asked softly. I knew he'd realize my plan.

"I haven't yet because I was afraid of falling too much. You know what that's like, Jasper, to be lost in the darkness. I want to pull him out, but I'm afraid. I would have done it without a second thought if it was just me, but there's Percy…" I trailed off, telling the Demivamp more than I voiced out loud.

Rose's head snapped up in a second and looked immediately toward the forest. Jasper and I separated. I went straight to Em and sat next to him on the floor. In fact, I jumped him. I knew I needed to get Jasper's scent off me. Despite not dating Edward, I didn't want anything to jeopardize my Quest especially since it was almost over. I heard the shower go upstairs, and I knew what he did to the clothes that had my scent all over them. They had been tossed in a bag that held a smell overpowering my own.

By the time Edward and Alice came in, Em and I were play fighting on the floor.

Edward just chuckled, and Alice probably went to seduce who she thought was her husband. Jasper assured me that they were _not _married. I thought the woman was stupid. Of course, I wouldn't have known her to be stupid if it wasn't for the fact that I knew Jasper belonged to me. But Rose wasn't sure how, though. As a Legacy of the Goddess of Love, she could, like Marcus of the Volturi, see bonds between people—specific bonds of mating, though. As a Legacy of Hekate and Jasper being a Demipire, it complicated things. Things like I would probably have a mate with a vampire due to Hekate and Aphrodite joining forces to create their own vampire. Which I never really understood, why did they need their own monsters? It wasn't like these two Goddesses actually went after Demigods...

All vampires had a gift of magic of some sorts (whether a physical attribute or gift). For example, Felix in the Volturi was the strongest vampire, and Edward had his mind reading—and he couldn't read a Demigod's mind, ha take that! Since Jasper, Rose, and Emmett were half Demigod now due to being a vampire, Edward could still read their minds; although, he had trouble.

Those who had been demigods in their last lives before becoming a vampire still had some, if not all, of their gifts they were granted due to the Ichor in their veins.

I was tired of separating from Jasper and watching that whore try and get into his pants. I mean, it wasn't like I was cheating on Edward and Jasper on Alice. The two of us were _not _together with Edward and Alice. They just thought we were. I had never agreed to date Edward nor have I kissed him. He thought I was being his little submissive and respecting his Puritan values. Not really; if Jasper and I weren't so confused over what we were to each other, we'd have jumped each other long ago.

Rose thought that I had two mates. I wasn't sure that was possible. She insisted that it was, and I wasn't the first one. I had a sneaking suspicion myself that Aphrodite, Ares, and Hephaestus were actually all together, except the latter was jealous that his relationship with his wife wasn't one of sex like Ares' was. Or she wasn't putting out anymore. I didn't get involved with that stuff.

Besides, I needed to see Lady Hera about that. Maybe she could help, and I think she would, especially if I was trying to respect the bounds of marriage and all that. I heard that was why she was pissed off at Hercules. It wasn't that she blamed the child for the deeds of the father but because he didn't respect the sanctity of marriage. If I'm not mistaken, that was why the whole thing with Dido got out of hand as well.

I would have to ask for her help with this but not now. Now, I would have to keep pretending to be Edward's friend. I had all the information I needed on this type of vampire, so I actually needed a way to break it off with the Cullens.

Edward pulled me out of my thoughts as I pinned Em to the ground. It seemed my instincts were still good that I could pin someone down while lost in my own mind. Luke taught me well, but I knew Em was only playing around. "That's enough playing. Bella needs to get ready for bed because she has a big day tomorrow."

I huffed as I let Em move me onto his lap. Edward sent a quick look at Rose who was watching with mild interest but more focused on her drawings. The bronze haired vampire was worried that Rose would be jealous. Rose wasn't threatened by others, especially me. I got along with the children of Ares quite well, unlike my twin. I also was polite to the Gods for one. They respected my battle skills, and, once, Ares had asked why I wasn't his kid. That incident might have been after we returned from Uncle Hades' realm when we were trying to save mom.

"I'm not a child, Edward, and I told you and Alice I didn't want a birthday party."

Okay, while I didn't lie about much (my relationship with Charlie was, unfortunately a lie, and one that was hard, at times, to keep up), I did lie about was my birthday. I was born August 18th, but I told them it was in June. This way in case something happened during the summer, (usually nothing happened until the mid or end of June or early July), I would be able to leave. I had planned to actually get out after my birthday or make excuses as to it being a reason as to why I should leave.

Jasper had gotten a text when I first came here and soon I got one too that told me to make my birthday in June because right after I would need to leave. My mate said it was from someone he knew back in the Southern Wars, a Son of Apollo who was given the gift of sight and knowledge, though it wasn't like Alice's gift, thank the Gods.

Em rolled his eyes and helped me stand up as Alice came down and started hounding me about how since she couldn't remember being human, she was going to live through me. That shit got me a few times but not anymore. I was about to put my foot down and tell her if she didn't stop, I was going back to my mother when I got a text from someone I nicknamed Yoda. Lord Apollo, I knew, got a kick out of that. And as a reward, he told me later on he would do something special for me. I immediately was on my guard. The last time a God thought they were doing me a favor, I ended up in love with Luke. Rose took that shit off me as soon as she could. While my emotions concerning the traitor who had been pushed too far were still real and deep, Lady Whore's spell had gone too far, and I was tainted. We weren't sure if I loved him, but I knew that it was enough for me to be driven to save him. That confliction, though, was something Jasper hated. He hated how it made me feel.

I wasn't the only one; Percy had gotten struck by the Goddess of Love for Annabeth. A girl I didn't like, and right now, that was all that was the only things holding Percy back from giving her more attention. Percy was conflicted himself on Luke and me, but he stayed away from the topic because he doubted it was going anywhere. Rose promised she would help as soon as she saw him, which I hoped was soon. I had scheduled for him to come get me a few days after the eighteenth.

I couldn't wait to see my twin. It was what was making this shit with Luke much worse. Percy kept me balanced, and he wasn't here…Jasper was doing everything he could, but without a completing the mate bond…he could only do so much. Percy was my Twin, and Twin Demigods were not common, especially from Gods as powerful as the Big Three. I think Percy and I were the only Twins of the Big Three. In fact, Chiron told us that he had observed less than five sets of Twins in his career as a trainer.

It was only after my thoughts hit Percy that I remembered that before I could snap back and give Alice that ultimatum, my phone had vibrated.

_Endure._

I took a deep breath. That was my job, and the job of every Demigod out there: endure. We were the only defense the gods had against the world. Right now I was a special defense. Even though it had been centuries (try around three or four thousand years) that those two Goddess decided it was a good idea to make the Cold One type vampire, we Demigods hadn't had much to do with them besides a few isolated incidences where we were targets. Maybe it was because monsters and these vampires went _nowhere_ near each other. I was sent here because of the possible threat Charlie identified to the town and because Chiron was wary of the chance Kronos might use them.

I closed my eyes and counted to five. Edward wasn't a really bad guy; he actually had a good heart, but I wasn't the girl for him. I didn't do submissiveness; although, it might have to do with the guy. I had had a few dreams about Jasper that went a little bit that way as well as the way he commanded me when the whole incident with James happened. It was a good thing I had learned control, otherwise Alice would have known that I had the hots for the man she _thought_ was her mate.

It was a good thing for her that she hadn't been getting laid lately (since I showed up), otherwise she might have burned with James…I was still upset to find that he had bedded her, but what could I say? Sixty years being celibate? But then I could counter he knew he was going to find his mate…but sixty years? I don't know…I've been told, by Em, that after having sex it's hard to go without, especially as a vampire with everything being intensified (such a hormones and such—Jasper _had_ been turned when he was at his prime, after all).

When I opened my eyes and my thoughts were calm, I saw Jasper on the stairs watching me intently as if he knew exactly what thoughts were going through my head. I had no doubt he did, for I knew he had wanted to kill the both of them many times in the past sixty years.

I locked eyes with him. "Take me home?" I asked softly just wanting to be away from all the drama. _Especially_ if I had to endure them tomorrow.

Jasper nodded, grabbed his keys, and was by my side not even a second later. Alice and Edward threw a fit.

"Love," he warned in that tone that told me he was going to try and control me for my own good…again. "You don't want to hurt, Jasper, do you?"

I knew Edward cared and wasn't trying to hurt Jasper's feelings; instead, he was trying to protect us both, but it still made me mad.

"Besides, Jasper has to help me get ready for your party!" Alice claimed as she came closer to drag him away.

I narrowed my eyes and pulled him behind me. Jasper sent me some amusement and a tad bit of lust at my protective display. Alice stopped short, looking quite confused.

Rose had had enough. "Just let the human go with him," she rolled her eyes. "If he eats her, then it's her fault. Besides, the quicker she leaves, the quicker Jasper will come back. Jasper fed this morning before she came over, remember? And he's done fine today being in here with her. Go, so I can do this in peace!" the blonde hybrid of her godly parents ordered.

Edward knew he couldn't argue with that, and as I said, he wasn't a bad guy. He just wanted to control and protect everyone. That first part was the kind of bad part of him. Edward only sighed, pinched his nose, and nodded. I also knew he wouldn't follow us because he was a trusting kind of guy. So it didn't even enter in his brain that time alone with Jasper might end with us quite naked and, possibly, some of my body parts broken or bruised. Edward also wanted to believe that his brother and his _supposed_ mate could co-exist together. After all, weren't we supposed to be _family_?

Jasper didn't say anything but just took my arm and lead me out toward the garage. By the time I was in the truck and my seat beat was on, we were already out of the carport and the house out of sight. Once we were out of earshot of the other vampires and a good bit down the road, I slid across the seat of his truck and snuggled with him. His arm instantly was wrapped around my shoulders holding me close to him.

"So you find Alice a threat, yet I don't see Edward as one," the blonde teased me. I turned my head a bit and nipped at his fingers resting on my shoulders. Jasper only chuckled.

"Not really," I answered as I thought about it for a second before it hit me. "I think it's just more…" I hesitated to say it, but he pushed me some confidence so I would tell him. Jasper could be so patient sometimes, waiting for me to say something in my own time, but it seemed with this he didn't. "I'm going back in a few days, but I don't want to leave you. But I will. We will separate because as much as I want you, you don't belong in my world anymore," I confessed as I pushed away from him and slid back to the other side of the car.

Then, suddenly, we stopped. I noticed we were about halfway to my house but in the middle of the fucking woods, and I was suddenly in his lap again for the second time that day.

I gasped because of two reasons: he startled me with his speed and with the fact that I was sitting on his cock which was suddenly hard.

Jasper's eyes were black and a hint of grey was coming out in them as he snarled at me. "You belong ta me, darlin'," Jasper hands gripped my hips as he grinded into my core. I struggled to breathe at both his accent slipping in and his actions. Fuck, I had forgotten Rose's warning that mates responded instantly to certain things with sex. Vampires were very sexual beings (no guess as to who is responsible for that). One thing that they responded to quicker than their mates being sexually aroused was a threat to their mate—of a chance their mate would be taken from them. In this case, I brought that one up. And fuck me if I didn't know what was going to happen next. Jasper was going to dominate me, put me in my place about his role in my life. Damn my virgin self…

"And I won't be lettin' ya go anytime soon," he growled, and I swear I was getting aroused myself. Jasper cut off my thoughts like he just had a way of doing when he somehow, in the same moment, secured one hand to hold my body still as he shoved his hips into mine while the other hand was attached the back of my head as he pushed mine to meet his.

Our second kiss. The first was when he told me I was worth it; that even if this wasn't a game we were playing, even if this was for real and I was in actually danger, I would be worth fighting and sacrificing himself for.

For a second, I had gotten caught up in my role and had become that girl who had become so attached to this new family of hers, the truly selfish submissive girl that wanted nothing more than to please all the vampires and keep them as her family. Jasper's words, voice, emotions, and his touch brought me back to myself. His black and tinted grey eyes wouldn't let mine go, and, when his head titled and went for mine, I didn't hesitate to meet his lips with my own.

It had been gentle, that first kiss. A kiss that was reassuring me of the rightness of the world, of resetting some sort of balance that Aphrodite had offset with her spell on Luke and I, and of peace.

This one? The complete opposite. This was dominating, demanding, a confirmation of the dark side of Jasper's emotions, and of how chaos had control of everything. This time I wasn't an equal; this time I was the submissive and a part of me carved it. It was in that moment I realized why people were into BDSM, especially those who were pretty dominate people. By giving up control, I felt free.

Jasper, in taking control of the two of us, had made the world disappear. I didn't think about saving the world, of my Twin, of Luke, of Kronos, of how I might just be the one that may destroy the world, especially if Aphrodite had continued her spell (and it wasn't a not sure thing now, either, considering how much damage it had done). If I joined Luke after being driven to his side, the enemy's side, by the love spell…

The blonde Demivamp I found myself trying to grind right back into (but his one handed hold on my hips wasn't letting me) didn't stop his assault on my core or my mouth until he had me completely in submission.

When I had given him complete control, he started to let go and slow down. After a few minutes, he stopped his body and moved his head back. I opened my eyes (that I wasn't aware I had closed) and saw his eyes were still the same color—black and grey, reflecting his inner-nature as a Demivamp.

"You will be coming back to me," Jasper ordered. "We may be apart for some time, but you will come back to me."

I nodded at his command as I found myself panting at the emotions whirling in me. I had never felt this type of pleasure before, and by the smirk on Jasper's face, he knew too. And he took pleasure in it.

The blonde I straddled chuckled as he leaned down to kiss my neck. "Fuck, darlin', do you know what you do to me? How good you smell? So ready and wet for me to take you…" he groaned as he couldn't help but nip at my neck.

I let out a moan at the urge for some relief, and I knew the only way I would be satisfied was if _he _got me to cum. I knew there was no was cumming without him being the one to make me. I may be a virgin but, damnit, I like to read.

I wondered if I was going to lose my virginity in his truck? I wouldn't have minded, but I wasn't sure if I was ready to pledge myself to him without talking with Lady Hera first. I knew for vampires, sex with one's mate was the same as marriage. But I wanted to do this right; if I was going to pledge my life to a man (or in my case men), I was going to do it with the permission and blessing of marriage (or mating) from the Goddess of it herself.

Jasper pulled his face back to take me in. My face flush with the rush of emotions he brought out in me. I could tell from the way his body mimicked mine—tension, trying to control ourselves from rubbing ourselves against each other, the panting (ha! I felt some kind of sick pleasure in making him feel like he made me), both of us struggled with not taking it further—that he was trying to find something in my face, my emotions, that would let him continue. Jasper was looking to see if I was ready to complete our mating.

I tore my eyes from his and set my head down on his shoulder trying to gather by thoughts together. Should I give myself to Jasper now even when I had not find my other? I snorted in my head and wondered what would that accomplish if my other mate was here? Would they fight over who would fuck me first?

I really needed to talk to Lady Hera. Maybe she could help me figure out what was going on, tell me what to do.

Jasper understood and sent me his acceptance. He kissed what he could of my forehead and whispered a warning, "I won't be able to stop next time. Next time we meet, I will claim you, mate," he promised.

I shivered and felt him shake as he chuckled. "Promise?" was my cheeky response to which he growled playfully and yanked on my hair somewhat gently as he attacked my lips again. "Watch it, mate, or I won't be able to control myself," he nipped at my lips before withdrawing and started driving again.

I sighed as I tried to get out of his lap. Jasper stopped me when he realized what I was doing, but when I told him that we were coming into town soon that someone might see us…he told me fuck them and wouldn't let me go.

I giggled and stayed in his lap the entire drive back to my uncle's house. I knew the only reason he could drive with me like this was because he was a vampire. He might have if he was still human; after all, Demigods were known to be able to focus more with an adrenaline rush…and boy was this one. I could still feel my mate's cock through both our pants, and I struggled not to want more pleasure than what we had taken from each other. My mate being an empath would not help me in trying to stay a virgin if I couldn't control my emotions.

When we got to my house, no one was home or around (so we weren't seen), but I had trouble removing myself from his lap. My sadness had Jasper holding me close.

"I don't want to leave you, but I will be back. I promise," I told him, and Jasper's response was to kiss me softly like our first kiss.

"And I will be waiting for you, mate," was his own promise.

I tried to leave his lap without putting pressure on his hard-on which didn't happen. Jasper was amused, though, as he sent some of his emotions my way as he lifted me off him and out of the truck.

I stood there in the area the open door made and turned to leave before pausing. "Do you know what's she has planned?" I asked my mate and felt him unconsciously project some annoyance.

"She has ordered _glass_, a giant fucking cake you won't eat, decorated the house, and _wrapped_ the presents in paper. I just don't understand that girl," he muttered. "She does shit like this and she should _know_ you by now. Or at least, she should know _Swan_," Jasper half-smirked all sexy like.

Fuck, I had no defense against him. And the bastard knew it as that full blown smirk on his delicious mouth clued me in to his spying empath ways.

I sighed when I forced myself to think about the party. "I'll figure out how to fuck it up so brace yourself." I warned my mate, and he titled his head at me.

"Anything coming to mind?" he asked, ever the strategist.

I waved him off, "I'm better at thinking on my feet, you know this." We shared a grin as both of us remembered the secret we shared: Halfbloods we were and thinking on our feet was essential to surviving. Besides, sitting still and thinking of plans wasn't really supported by the ADHD we suffered from.

"I'll see you tomorrow, sweetling," Jasper leaned down to kiss me, a quick peck as we didn't want to lose control and end up with me bent over the seat of his truck, half in half out as he fucked me raw. "A real present will find its way to you in August," he assured me as I backed away and walked toward the house.

A real gift, huh? "What if I want it now?" I fake whined and pouted at him as I turned to look at him.

Jasper's lips barely even twitched at my cuteness. "If you want it now, I can make that happen."

I titled my own head. "You have it on you?" I asked and when he nodded I was at his truck in a second. Jasper only shook his head at me, amusement clear in his eyes and his smile.

Jasper reached into the glove compartment to his right and pulled something out. "I had Rose make it since I know you hate borrowing weapons and are particular crazy about Percy's sword and its ability to be a pen."

It was a pen box that was double the regular size. I carefully opened it and saw two pens that had an owl and trident engraved on them both.

"The swords are the same though the color is a bit different on both. The left is black and the right is gold. Be very careful, I think you can tell what the blades are made of," he warned but he didn't have too. I could feel the Stygian Iron. I didn't know one Half-blood that had a blade made of _that _Iron. "Rose said that her father told her the secret of making them able to _shift_."

The emphasis he put on that last word made my eyes snap to him and widened. "You mean…"

I trailed off unable to say it. Jasper only nodded. "If you want a bow…" he let my imagination take over.

I couldn't breathe. This gift…tears started to form in my eyes and when they fell, Jasper kissed them away before they made their way past my nose. I couldn't even begin to describe what this gift meant to me. When I tried to speak, to tell him, he shook his head at me. As if words weren't needed, because they weren't needed. Having an empath for a mate did have some perks.

Jasper nudged his head toward the door. "Go, I'll see you tomorrow. Try not to kill Edward when he comes over tonight with those," my blonde mate joked. "Because if Alice sees you killing him, I'm going to be mad."

"That you didn't get to help?" I waggled my eyebrows and the amusement and love in his eyes told me what his words and jokes didn't say.

It was nice to know here, with Jasper, I never had to wonder about anything. I knew what we felt for each other was real and not something fake that Aphrodite created for amusement or whatever reason.

It was not complicated like with Luke. With Luke I never knew if he wanted me or didn't. Maybe pushing me away had to do with the fact he didn't want to taint me. But what other path was there if I loved him? A part of me prayed to Fate that he wasn't my second mate. If he was, I wasn't sure how this could end except with blood and death. I'd be like Riley with Quinn, though if Quinn (like Jasper) was my vampire, I don't think living without one mate would be a problem. I like to read, so sue me.

I stood on my tiptoes, kissed him, and then ran inside holding the closed box to my chest tightly. I didn't look back after I opened the door because I knew I wouldn't let him leave if I did, and there was something I needed to do.

After getting in, I went straight to my room. I set the box on the bed and kneeled beside it. This was the first time I was actually going to pray to a god without being caught in a life and death situation.

_Lady Hera, if you're listening, I need help. As the Goddess of Marriage, you are the one I need advice from. I find myself with two mates, and I don't know what do to about it. How does one marry and bond with two people? I've seen the uncontrolled chaos that spirals without bonding and marriage of some kind in our family, and I want to be different. I need the stability of the bond. I don't know what to do. How can I find my second? Or do I have to pick one over the other? How do I bond with two people? Do they have to be together with me and it done at the same time? I am lost, Lady Hera, please send me some sign as to what I have to do. _

As I pulled out of my prayer, I sighed. I didn't really expect her to send something obvious like a thunderbolt right down in front of me, a peacock strutting about, or something like that. Besides, drama wasn't Lady Hera's style.

I really didn't know what to expect if she did send me some sign. I was so frustrated at this situation of confusion (and at the usual lack of response from the gods) that I took the nearest object, and without thinking, threw it to my right. It had been one of my pens. The black one and it knocked one of my books over.

I noticed as I came closer that the three quarters sword's hilt had knocked over my seventh Harry Potter book. As I picked it up, I noticed it was opened to the chapter where Harry asks the Grey Lady for help finding her mother's…diadem. A symbol of Hera. I dropped the book as the realization hit me and found the book had opened to another chapter: The Deathly Hallows. I wonder what message Lady Hera was sending me. Was the key to my problem have to do with those things?

Was this a sign that my other mate was close to death? Would die just like the three brothers? Was it really Luke? I had prayed that the fall hadn't killed him, and Percy hated himself afterward. He knew I cared about Luke and to see him fall had been a lot to bear. Even more so if he was dead. Something I refused to believe. I just hoped if he was alive, that what brought him back was not something we would all regret.

I let out the breath I had been holding and came to the conclusion that I would just see where life took me. If I had interpreted the sign correctly and Luke was my mate, then I would join him. Chaos help us all then.

If this was Lady Hera's way of letting me know who my mate was, then I wondered about the other thing I asked about. How was I to know if I was to be with both or one? Or how we were to join together? Did it mean that death would join us? Did it mean that I wouldn't have to choose because one was going to die?

I shoved those thoughts out of my head. I washed my clothes that smelled like Jasper and I all over them and took a shower. Once I was done, I cooked dinner for Charlie, and, after eating, went to bed trying to shove away all my doubts and fears.

I would see Jasper tomorrow and that would make me happy…until I had to leave him.

~TotG~

I let Edward dress me, but when he wasn't looking, snuck in some shorts to put on underneath the dress. I found myself on occasion okay with wearing a skirt—only if it was a skort. Dresses and skirts were a bitch to fight in—if you were trying to preserve your modesty.

After I dressed, Edward found it odd that Charlie didn't wish me a happy birthday, and I waved it off as we would celebrate later. The vampire didn't ask any more questions, and we headed to his house in silence.

Em assaulted me with a hug as soon as I entered and dragged me off toward the middle of the room. As we walked, he whispered in my ear, "Rose's going to get it delivered to camp soon."

My eyes had widened, and the two of us were such good actors that we played it off as being surprised at how Alice went out of control with the decorating and stuff. I couldn't believe she was already done, but given that she didn't sleep…

Alice demanded that I open presents immediately. There was a big box that was somehow light; I grew suspicious. Hell, I have been since Percy got the head of Medusa sent back to him by father. I narrowed my eyes at Em who just couldn't stay still.

"What's in the box?" I asked with my voice clear with my guarded nature toward boxes. "There isn't something in here that could, I don't know, do something like turn me into a statue due to me looking at something I shouldn't because of my surprise at what is inside? No hissing?" I held my ear up to the box to listen.

Rose and Jasper started choking on air, and Em looked confused. They at least understood what I was referring to. Jasper shook his head, though I could tell both him and his fake-twin were curious about why would think Medusa's head would be in a box.

"I only ask because Percy once got something in the mail sent from our father, that was originally sent by him, that I shouldn't look at directly." I explained and Rose rolled her eyes at the dramatics of my brother. Both she and Jasper could tell what happened. Pissed off smartass Demigod.

"Who's Percy, love?" Edward asked, and I would have responded automatically with "my twin" if wasn't for the shady business going on around me. But if anyone had been paying attention, they would have noticed I said "our father."

"Someone I've known since birth," I alluded as I decided to open the box very carefully. I got the paper off without incident, and then when I opened it I, ducked behind the part that opened up and turned it on Edward. This way he could do what he always wanted to do: protect me.

Jasper and Rose tried to keep their laughter in as they realized I used the vampire as a shield. The others thought they were laughing _at _me not at my actions.

Edward seemed a little amused as he pretended to look inside for me. "It's safe, love; there's actually nothing in there."

I narrowed my eyes at him and shook the thing without looking. There wasn't a sound. "Then why the fuck would you give me an empty box?" I asked in confusion and ignored both Edward and his mother scolding me for my language. I was too focused on the empty box. Was there something magical in it that was invisible? Or was this a gag at me leaving soon?

Em couldn't hold back anymore. "It was a laptop, but I knew you would try and give it back, because little _Isabella Swan_ doesn't like gifts that cost stuff, so I put it in your room at home after you and Edward left."

I blinked. I would have kept the damn laptop. I was tired of not having something like that when Percy and I went so school or back at camp. Athena's cabin were assholes when it came sharing tings. I was going to go jump the Son of Ares when I remembered that Swan didn't like gifts.

I just sighed and acted like I would keep even though I didn't want it. "If you've gone to that much trouble, I'll keep it," I mumbled. Really, I was happy and excited.

"Good, I uploaded a _lot _of stuff that you might want to share with some of your friends…if you have friends," he added and waggled his eyebrows at me. I rolled my eyes at him. I figured what he uploaded were some designs for weapons and shit he and his mate have come up with over the years that they knew we were going to need in the war coming.

"It better not be porn," Edward glared at his brother. I was shocked he actually said the word, but I took a back step when I realized that Em could have uploaded shit like that.

"And who would I share that with?" I asked cheekily, and I noticed a smirk on Rose's face as she subtly looked at Jasper before looking back at me. I gave her look that said I didn't think I'd be needing it, and the look she gave me was absolutely sinful as if she knew exactly how much I _wouldn't_ need it with Jasper.

After Em gave Edward a run around with his virgin status, I went to the next gift. Edward explained it to me when I looked at a wrapped envelope-gift skeptically because the response I gave would have made him blush upon hearing it if he was human. "This isn't some contract like Grey has Anna sign is it? Or some marriage contract?"

Edward shook his head frantically. "No, love, its airplane tickets to go see your mother. You said since she was going back to college, you wanted to ease your burden on her so that's why you moved here with your father."

I almost gave away myself when I almost responded, what you talkin' 'bout Willis? But I didn't and nodded. So I twisted just a bit of the truth, sue me. I then went to carefully open the damn thing, glad I took such care before because the gods only knew what would happen if I spilled blood in a room of repressed vampires…that was when I got the idea.

In that spilt second, I sent Jasper an emotion I hope was brace yourself, Elle! Then I made like I was so excited and cut my finger.

I was instantly on alert as I started to wave my finger in the air acting like an idiot. "Oh, I cut my finger! Stupid papercut," I said, playing my part. But my eyes were on Edward as I felt him stop breathing. Jasper's eyes were on Edward too, and it looked like he was going to stay in control until Alice gasped and then I was flying into the glass.

Time slowed and I did my damnest to avoid the glass. Everyone was so focused on Jasper (well, except the Demivamps, they could _really _multitask) that the Cullens didn't see me do some Demigod moves and dodge the plates. As Jasper was moving to intercept Edward and keep me away from the younger vampire, my fingers were in the pockets on the dress (ones I made) where my pen-swords were. If Edward attacked me, I was going to kill him. That was how this shit worked.

It didn't happen because Rose grabbed Jasper and Em went for Edward; thus separating them, and it gave Edward enough time to gain control of himself long enough to feel ashamed and run off. I didn't worry about him, I went straight to Jasper, but daddy and mommy vamp tried to stop me. I dodged their asses, surprising them, and went straight to my mate. Alice was too busy lost in visions to try and stop me. Rose and Em were just looking on; a part of them felt fear that Jasper might have given into his vampire nature to protect his mate and they were about to get ripped apart for keeping him from doing so, or that Jasper would grab me and run off for sexy time.

I slowly approached Jasper as his eyes turned on me. I could see him taking me all in, and his eyes went straight to my finger. I held it up, and before I could blink, he was next to me licking it once before he took the hand away from his mouth. His eyes were still golden, but they had a hint of black and grey in them. I guess seeing I was safe and the fact that he didn't completely give over to his nature was enough for him not to take me off and claim me so that no one else would try and come after me.

Jasper just stared at me, thinking about gods only knew what, when Alice came out her visions with venom tears almost making an appearance. "Jasper…how could you be willing to kill Bella and…" she couldn't even continue. I knew what she saw. She saw Jasper claiming me and turning me.

I almost said that I wouldn't have minded, but I stopped myself. Instead, I turned to Alice and told her neither was going to happen anytime soon. Rose gently took my arm and told everyone she was taking me home.

Em and Jasper disappeared after that, and I knew they were going to spar to get rid of Jasper's frustrations at various things. Like, why didn't he take me?

On the way back to my house, Rose came in and told Charlie that she was going to help me pack.

"Since she broke up with Edward, are all of you leaving?" he asked. While he didn't trust the other four vamps, my uncle found himself trusting the Demivamps a bit. After all, he knew that the Ichor in their veins stayed even if it was alongside venom now. We had determined that the Ichor in a Cold One type vampire's veins gave him extra control unlike the others who didn't.

Rose chuckled. "Edward's probably going all emo now that thinks he almost killed her. He'll probably break up with her tomorrow and make us all leave tonight." Rose concluded, and it didn't sound that bad. They'd be gone by the time Percy got here to take me home, so win-win I thought.

Rose helped me pack all my stuff, careful of my Demigod things like Mist and the laptop. I kept the pens out because you never knew when you'd be attacked. Once I was done packing, an idea caught me.

"What if Edward sees my stuff? He won't think it was his idea to leave me…" I really did want him away from me and to not think he had a chance with me at all. If he decided that he was leaving me, that would be better. At least, I think so. More of a clean break.

Rose looked thoughtful. "You could stuff it in your closet, so he doesn't see it. Or you could tell him that you don't want to see him anymore and don't want to be friends with him."

I don't know; would he feel it over more if I told him or if he told me? Maybe I could just agree with him.

When we were done, Rose left and hugged our goodbyes. I would miss her, but she'd had my cellphone number (which was for emergencies, I had heard horror stories about HalfBloods getting killed because of them), and we had IMing so…besides, she knew where camp was.

I took a shower, did more human things, and went to bed. After getting up early, I got dressed and saw Edward waiting outside the house. So he wasn't stalking my bedroom, eh? Or maybe he did. The little prick didn't know that I knew he was watching me. He almost died one night because he caught me off guard. Instincts of a Demigod. But I acted as if it was a dream and went back to sleep.

Now, I've never been dumped before, and not that Edward and I were going out, but the way he "dumped" me was a little extreme. He called me a distraction (which meant toy and plaything) and that I would forget him as time went on, and the kicker, he never loved me.

Now, if I had actually been in love with him, that would have hurt a shit ton. Instead, I just nodded and told him that I didn't want to see him either. The baby accepted this and left me in view of my house.

It only really hit me that they were gone when I went back to the house and pulled my bag out of the closet.

Jasper was gone, and I wasn't going to see him for a while. It hurt, but I was used to pain. Besides, I was a Demigod. We were created to endure. Just like Shinobi.

It didn't take long for Percy to come get me and the way he did so shocked the hell out of me. He came right out of the fucking shadows.

What the fuck? I would have had both swords out if I didn't have to catch Percy. There was movement before Nico came out too. Or at least I think it was Nico. This one looked a bit grown up. I didn't dwell on it or pay attention to him—or his hotness—I was suffering from a Jasper withdraw, so I didn't notice him at all.

"Love, are you okay?" I asked softly as I helped keep him steady.

"You get used to it," Nico said, his voice deep and sex—nope! Stop right there! Jasper! Remember, Jasper!

"So, what has you and a Son of Hades coming to get me?" I inquired as I pulled my bag over my shoulders. "I figured I'd meet you on First Beach and we'd swim or get a ride with a sea friend not Shadow Express."

Percy caught his breath and answered me. "Well, I was checking out that new school for us and got attacked by some vampire chicks," he started and both Nico and I interrupted him with the correct name for them—and Percy and I both ignored the in sync thing I had with Nico.

"Elizabeth Dare was there, you remember her? That girl who could see through the Mist we found at the dam? Well, she helped me get away. Then I ran to camp and somehow discovered an entrance to the Labyrinth. Nico was just coming out of it, and he told us what Luke was planning on doing with it."

Percy stopped when he noticed I had a pained expression on my face. I turned around from him and buried my face in my heads, "Fuck! Really, Luke? An attack on camp?" I muttered as I knew instantly what Luke had planned on doing. "We have to stop him." I decided swiftly as I turned around, ignoring the fact that Nico had seen my pain. If Luke was my other mate, he needed my focus. "Maybe if we stop him before…"

I couldn't even say anything else. Percy and Nico both read my mind. Nico, I noticed, had a mask up as he observed me. Percy just grimaced.

"I don't think you can save him anymore, sister. Luke's too far gone."

I glared at my twin and loved it when he flinched, but I didn't say anything.

"I don't understand why you even like the guy anymore! He's tried to kill us quite a few times!" Percy growled at me as he snapped back at me for my look.

"And I don't understand why you like Annabeth! It's for the same reason, actually, Aphrodite put a spell on the both of us toward them." I revealed as I tried to calm down and justify my attraction to Luke—there was no way in Hell I was going to tell him that Luke was _one_ of my mates. "One of the vampires here was a Demigod that was blessed, Legacy, whatever of her. Rose told me when we first met I was under a love spell. She canceled it, but too much damage was done. I can't help but care for Luke," I confessed to my brother, and he immediately had me in his arms as he realized at how fucked the both of us were. I had no doubt he was drawing some connections with him and a certain Daughter of Athena.

"Besides, when do you have time to like that chick? She never goes on any Quests with us," I told his shirt as I barely came up to his chest. Damn my five foot two inch height. Even Nico was taller than me now.

"Can you get it reversed on Percy or you?" Nico asked, "What effects will there be?"

I stepped out of my twin's embrace and shrugged at Nico. "Not really. I think I'll always care about Luke, but I don't think I am in love with him anymore. But I'm still drawn to him, at least I will be until I find my mate and we bond."

Percy narrowed his eyes. "Mate?"

I nodded and spoke like this wasn't a big deal. "Yeah, because of the Ichor in our veins and depending on our power level, fate, and some other things, some of us have mates. I need to find mine and bond with him. Rose told me that should take away most of what I feel for Luke, unless Luke is my mate…" I trailed off and turned my head away from the two males near me. I didn't want them seeing my face, but I had no doubt they did. They saw the confliction I felt.

I shrugged off this conversation and looked my twin in the eye. "We will be facing death again; I've got a bad feeling about this, brother."

"Well, it's good we got a Son of Hades, right?" Percy grinned and relief washed over me as I smiled.

Percy nodded to Nico, and the other Demigod touched us both and told us to hang on. We were back in camp in just a few seconds. Percy looked at me like he was about to fall over, and I caught him. Nico looked at me like he was studying me.

"Most people react like Percy did when Shadow traveling, yet you are completely okay."

I just titled my head at his unspoken question. "I was running with vampires for a while, and their speed is super-fast, so maybe I got used it. Now, who has seen the Oracle? We need a prophecy that I'm really, really, going to hate!"

Nico and Percy just laughed at me as my very negative views on prophecies were known by all before my brother answered. "I thought it was your turn, so go up to the big house and get it." Percy responded as he kicked my butt to get me moving.

I rolled my eyes and started jogging toward the Big House where I found Annabeth arguing with Chiron about wanting to get to see the Oracle this time. Apparently, she really wanted to go on this Quest. A part of me felt bad that I had kept her away from any big Quests, but I didn't want her near my brother and Chiron knew that. In fact, it was the very reason he didn't let Annabeth come near me most of the time. He was afraid I was going to hurt her or something. And I would too if she tried anything.

Once I got close, I greeted Chiron and went right past him before he could say anything about me getting to see the Oracle and not the other girl. But I heard her bitching, though.

"So _she_ gets to get it but not me? This is freaking favoritism, Chiron! Don't think I don't know it's because of her that I have gone on any of the big Quests _especially_ ones with Percy!" I was in the house before I heard anymore let alone his response.

When I got in the musty old attic, which one day I was actually going to explore (there was some neat shit up here), I saw the Oracle, and it bade me to ask—and I did. But what I heard was something that truly scared me.

_You shall delve in the darkness of the endless maze,_

_The dead, the traitor, and the lost one raise._

_You shall rise or fall by the ghost king's hand,_

_The child of Athena's final stand._

_Destroy with a hero's final breath,_

_And lose a love to worse than death._

The fourth line was really making me not want to take Annabeth along, but it was the second and third that confused me. The dead raise? The ghost king? If Nico was coming, maybe he had to do with the dead. And nothing really came to mind with the title ghost king. Are we talking about Hamlet, Richard III here?

But it was truly the last one that made me want to cry. I knew what I would have to do. I would fight this fucking prophecy with everything I had. This prophecy was one that I knew if I stayed with Percy against Luke, it would happen. I had to save him, _especially_ if he was my mate. I would do anything for my mate. Even if it meant losing the one thing I could always count on.

When I left the attic, Chiron, Percy, Nico, and Annabeth were waiting for me. Maybe it was the devastated look on my face that made Annabeth look like she regretted wanting to go in there. Percy was on me in a second, "What did you hear?"

I looked up at him and willed back the tears. "You and everyone else may not think Luke can be saved, but I _will_ do it. I will save him," I vowed and my aggressive and defiant tone had each one of them taking a step back.

I would bring my mate out of the darkness or fall in with him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Moon Says: **So, this did not turn out like I had expected. It was originally supposed to be short and finished last week. But, I think y'all can forgive for that week time delay (or, really, the months since I promised it would come out) because of the length of this bad boy. Seriously, it was supposed to be a filler chapter until they get into the Labyrinth, and it turned into a monster of 20 pages. Yeah, forgive me please and accept the offering of super long chapter because of the long wait.

**WARNING**: YOU MUST READ THIS! Okay, so there is a shit ton in this chapter that is foreshadowing the end of the story. It won't make sense. As I think my take on this bit of the PJ series is completely original. I have taken liberty, like I will when my HPxPJ comes out, with the history of the gods, etc. Don't hate me for the confusion, but it will become clear in the end. Oh, and remember, I haven't read the second PJ series…I didn't know Nico was gay. Nico is bi here, (see later chapters later for this). Anyway, PLEASE bear with me. Oh, and just so you know, there will be more angst in this fic. Yeah, too much emotion and confusion with it. Yay.

**Words/Pages: **9906/20

**Twilight of the Gods**

**~Chapter 2~**

The past couple of days have exhausted me. The combination of my Quest with those vampires, Jasper, Luke, and this fucking Prophecy overwhelmed me. It didn't help the intense conviction I felt in saving Luke had consumed me only to burn out a second later when everything hit me at once.

I refused to give up on the traitor, but damn it, I am only half human. This is why I don't deal with all this emotional shit. The dark side has less of it, I'm afraid.

This exhausted part of me was ready to drop.

Too much, too much.

Percy understood the sudden change; maybe the months a part hadn't dimmed our connection. He reached for me, and I didn't resist as he tugged me to our cabin. I don't even remember the others around us after I made my declaration, only the tugging and eventual deposit into a bed with his arms wrapped around me.

We spent at least an hour just holding each other as we curled and molded our bodies together. I had missed this—just simply being with my Twin. Of the comfort our connection provided us. These fucking gods had tainted us.

Once upon a time, Percy was all I needed. All I wanted.

Once he got tired of the silence, my brother detailed everything I had missed since we had separated. Including the week or so he had been at camp without me, waiting on me. I spilled most of what happened with me while I was in Forks. Or was it Spoons? My mind was a mess. The thing with Jasper was too raw for me to open that, but I did go into Edward situation.

"How can someone not know you're not dating?" a deep…_no, don't go there._..confused voice interrupted me from the window.

It was Nico, and the dark haired man (_man…when the fuck did he become a man? How could I have not noticed? No, girl, do not notice. You have two mates and one is going to be lost to you. Focus on him_) was leaning into the opened window on my left.

The bed, mine at least, was right up against the wall and under the window. I was, basically, squeezed, between Percy, the window, and Nico. Not that I minded.

I should have, but I didn't.

A stray thought made its way into my head—_glad the window's ope_n_._

I shrugged at this particular Son of Hades' questions. "I thought it was obvious, but not only did four vampires think so, but the entire freaking town. Annoying," I rolled my eyes.

"I'd say. I'll kick his ass if I see him make a move on you, sister dear." Percy vowed, and I fake swooned on his shoulder.

"My knight in," I quickly look at his clothes, "dark jeans."

Odd enough, that triggered something in my head, and I followed the thought out loud. "Jeans, Jasper, Knight, jeans, porn."

Nico and my brother were, oh so, confused. Not that I cared, but I did get some sort of sick pleasure from it. I'd always loved confusing people, especially if they thought something untoward and it wasn't. I don't know how many times I deliberately led someone to thinking something perverted only to reveal the exact opposite. Good times.

I untangled myself from my brother, not that I wanted to, and went for the bag I brought with me.

A bag that had been carried to the cabin with us. Where was it?

Then I remembered as I bent down to get it that I had carelessly tossed it down when I was out of my mind upon being so emotionally drained.

I made a triumph-like noise when I got the laptop out.

Percy, lazy that he was, stayed put when I came back and popped myself between my two men.

"Porn, really? I don't feel comfortable watching this with you," pause, side glance at Nico, "Or you with him."

I almost waved him off before I caught his words. "But you'll watch it with Nico? Is there something you need to tell me, like I don't need to worry about that love spell anymore?" I questioned with an eyebrow raised.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Nico do the same.

Percy sputtered before waving me off, knowing I wouldn't be teasing him more.

Nico and I chuckled before I continued. "Emmett made a joke about there being porn on here when Edward, the prude, warned him not to have uploaded any on here," was my reply as I booted the thing up.

And low and behold, the wallpaper was a wet, shirtless Jasper, and the song "I just had sex" was playing automatically.

"I thought it was a joke," Percy mumbled, but I ignored him and barely heard his words as Jasper had all of my attention.

Percy hit me to get my attention, and I refused to look at Nico.

"Who is that?" Percy growled, going into overprotective brother mode.

"Jasper," was my quick reply before I thought of something quick. I pulled out my phone, snapped a picture before sending it to Jasper.

Em had out done himself. No doubt Rose was involved.

"Who'd you send that to?" my brother demanded, and I ignored him as I just got a reply.

"_Usually, you send a pic like this of yourself." _

I chuckled, and replied back as fast as my fingers could type. "_This isn't me? Identity crisis, cuz I just don't know who I am anymore. Well, so much for being this hot." _

I tuned out the animalistic noises around me from the cavemen.

Jasper's reply caused my phone to be snatched from my hand. _Thanks, sweetling. Takes one to know one. Miss you. Still want that pic. Quid pro pro, darlin'."_

I followed my phone to the face that stole it, and I gave my brother an unimpressed look.

"Is this Jasper?" Are you…sexting? Does he have pictures of you?" my brother demanded answers but didn't stop his questions until I hit him upside the head.

"Shut up. If Jasper has any pictures of me, I'm clothed and he didn't take them. Besides, admit it, he is sexy. Look at the body…he was _well _acquainted with it before he was turned. It isn't a crime to look," I tilted my head at the screen.

I missed him.

Sigh. I'd take a clothed Jasper any day if it meant I could have him.

"Were you dating him?" Nico asked quietly, speaking up for the first time in a while. Though I didn't look at him, I knew there was something off about him. Percy looked and his eyes widened in understanding. What did my twin figure out that I didn't? Or was it something I didn't want to know?

Probably. There was a lot I refused to think about as I had to focus on Luke.

My mate.

I sighed before opening up a folder on the desktop. "It's complicated. Jasper was my rock, especially when those nomads attacked. He kept reminding me that I wasn't Bella Swan, daughter of Charlie, but Isabella Jackson, Daughter of Poseidon. I got lost in my cover for a while, and if it wasn't for him, Em, and Rose, I think I'd be crying my heart out right now, probably out in the woods dying of exposer to the cold."

There were so many files in the folder that popped up.

Fortification—armor—battle and monster strategies were just a few.

"Fuck," Percy and Nico whispered as they took in them all.

"That's what you get with three bored Demivamps in a sixty years period," I explained.

A knock on the window besides Nico commanded my attention.

"Isa?"

It was one of the Aphrodite girls. "There's a package for you at the forge. Says it's from Rosalie Hale," the girl sighed. "She should have been my sister."

I chuckled. "She's gorgeous, I'll give you that. I almost wished I was a lesbian a few times."

All three of them choked as I chuckled darkly as I know I shocked them. I love messing with my brother as well as everyone around me. They don't call me the Dark Twin for nothing.

I noticed, though, when I was about to get up and close the computer, that a small flash drive was in it. After checking what was on it, which was everything, I grinned. Now I didn't have to waste time with emailing this shit to the other campers.

There was no way in hell I was going to share my, our (Percy and mine, I accepted, and if Nico wanted too), laptop with any of the others. This wasn't a camp laptop, this was _mine_.

I grinned it, left the laptop on the bed, and, after a second of thought, jumped out the window.

It was fun; no wonder my vamps did it a lot.

"So, what's in it?" Percy questioned me about my package as we quickly made our way to the forge.

"Armor," was my only word on the subject. I ignored him and the other two the rest of the way; lost in my fantasies of what the designs were.

As soon as we enter the forge, everyone stopped what they were doing. One of the forgers immediately came to me with a box, and the rest crowded around me.

Eagerly, I opened it. The first thing I came to, I didn't expect. It was another picture of Jasper, but he wasn't half-naked. A part of me was disappointed, and so was my brother.

He didn't want to see it in the first place.

"Is this a conspiracy?" then he looked at the thing closely, "What is he, a monkey?"

I smirked. "No, the monkey-man is Emmett."

A Daughter of the Goddess of Love, there were two around me (I think, as I was busy staring at Jasper so I wasn't sure; sigh, here was my clothed Jasper), started to go ape shit on Percy about how awesome Jasper looked and, rumored had it, was.

I rolled my eyes, stuck the picture of Jasper in a thinking tree pose, in my pocket.

I felt Nico stiffen next to me before he moved to lean against the wall to my left.

I felt a loss for a second before pushing it aside.

No. Don't even go there, girl.

_Ignore him._

I focused back on my armor.

A big freaking box.

The first thing my eyes landed on when I opened the box were the black boots that had a wedge heel, not too high though. I had to fight and run in these things. Though, I titled my head as I thought, that heel could do some damage. Either way, they looked very comfortable. And long. Looking at them, I had no doubt they'd go up to my knees—more protection. Besides, I had always loved boots like these.

The boots framed the top and bottom of the box.

In the middle of the box was some actual jean and leather combo legging…type things. I was shit at fashion. I had no idea in Hades what these things were actually called or what they were made of.

Then, under the pants was a corset styled shirt. Maybe it was a tank top. The straps were wide enough to be considered a tank as they were about three or four fingers wide. Not a lot of coverage on the shoulders, but hey, if it was hot, I'd be comfortable. The cups looked to no doubt cover my breasts and not show anything. It was pure black with ice-blue thread. The thread was like a braid, crisscrossing from the top to bottom in the middle on the front, both sides, and back of the top.

I completely took it out and saw the gloves that were inside as well—they would go past my elbows, covering more of my body, protecting it, but something else surprised me. I saw two more things in the box. One was a long duster like jacket but also a different top that was not only longer—it covered my ass and had long sleeves. It also stopped, in the front, at my waist (but, as I said, it was longer than my ass, so the sides and back of the top continued on).

So tank top and jacket or longer corset-dress thing.

"What are you, gothic?" Percy grumbled, but I knew he was just afraid of how hot I'd look.

The girls were all oohing over its sexiness and the children of Hephaestus were all about the armor the material was.

"The material looks like the normal type of cloth used in regular clothes—jeans, yeah, but it is functional armor. Flexible but hard—darker than normal…" Beckendorf trailed off as he got this look in his eye that told me I should just leave him to it. As it was, I really didn't understand him…

Rose did her job, a bit too well, apparently.

I glanced at Nico and his eyes darkened, well, darker than the normal black that was custom of a child of Hades.

Huh—didn't want to go there.

"Where's my super clothes?" Percy pouted, and I grinned. "Maybe you should have went on my Quest with me. Otherwise," I held up a flashdrive and tossed it to Beckendorf before he attacked me for it.

"Rosalie Hale has a shit ton of schematics—"

The Son of Hephaestus didn't even let me finish before he ran off to a nearby computer they had in the forge.

"You think he had a nerdgasm?" Percy whispered to me while I tried not to laugh. I grabbed my stuff and went to the nearby changing room to put it on.

I put on the tank and gloves but left the jacket off for now. I'd put it on when we'd get into the Labyrinth—I knew it'd be cold in there. But right now, it was hot as hell in the camp. The only reason I had the gloves on was because I wasn't used to that much of my arms being open like that. Usually, I just said to hell with it and had a shirt with sleeves that went almost or past my elbows.

Anyway, I hurried. We had a Quest to get to.

~TotG~

It wasn't even noon when we were finished getting completely ready, but Annabeth fucked it all up. Because of her shit, we were forced to leave the next morning.

While I got our bags ready, set out some clothes/armor thing substitute for Percy, said brother of mine hadn't left the forge as he was begging the children of Hephaestus to make him something like mine.

Nico hadn't left my side, and I was glad for that. Besides, I needed an extra eye to make sure I got enough stuff for the three of us.

Nico seemed amused though that I was so getting together his stuff as well as Percy's, and I just shrugged him off.

"I do it for that lazy ass, so why not for you as well? Besides, you're here, right? That means you're kind of doing it yourself too."

I could tell Nico didn't agree with me, but he just let me have the argument. I narrowed my eyes at him, and he just stared at my trying not to laugh at me.

I let out a breath and just let it go. If he wanted to act like this, he could do it. I wasn't going to pick a fight. I wanted to, the Gods knew I did.

Percy was too passive when it came to me. I wanted an argument, and my eyes widened as I realized what was going on here. Nico knew the minute I realized it as he started smirking at me.

"Bastard," I hissed with no real feeling behind it, but it only made him more smug.

Nico knew that I wanted an argument, but he wasn't going to get it to me. Instead, the ass was one step from laughing at me. But he wouldn't do that, because then I really would start something and then he'd lose.

I giggled darkly as I came to my own conclusion. Just as he'd won this round, so did I. he couldn't fully bask in his amusement because if he did, I would win, so technically, I won too.

Nico pouted a bit when he came to the same realization.

But I don't think he minded.

He got me to laugh and forget about my troubles for a while and teased me successfully without a physical blows being thrown, so I guess his mission was accomplished.

A part of me was happy that someone cared enough to stay with me to try and help me (unlike my brother who left me and was too busy begging for shit, which was actually funny in itself), but the other part questioned why Nico would do that.

We weren't close.

_Percy the dumb fucker had promised that he would make sure Bianca made it back during our last Quest, and I knew Nico was shattered when we came back not only without her but with her dead. Nico had practically hero worshipped Percy._

_And for Percy, who could do nothing wrong and could do anything, this was a huge blow to Nico._

_I had tried to fix the damage. I didn't let Percy see Nico as Percy was already feel a shit ton of guilt; instead, I was the one who came back with the news._

_I told him to brace himself and let him have it as gently as I could. I told him not lies. Maybe it was when I hesitated, when I confessed to him I felt responsible for her death._

_Nico was shocked enough that I would say something like that that he heard me out_.

"_Little one," I started, trying to hold back my emotions. I was trying to be strong for him, but it was getting hard because I hated to fail. That and I was still feeling the backlash of what happened with on that Quest—my failing him, the loss of Zoe and Bianca, my rival joining Artemis' Hunt (when a part of me wanted to, but Percy needed me, and I refused to leave my Twin—Lady Artemis understood me, as she had given me a sympathetic look; she knew from experience what having a reckless Twin was like), trying to battle an all consuming anger at Annabeth and Percy as part of me blamed them for Luke's fall—it was overloading me, and part of me wanted to just lay down, cry, and possibly die. _

_But I didn't; instead, I tried my best to be strong, to shoulder everything like usual. I had to be strong not just for Percy but for Nico too. I wasn't the only one who lost someone here._

"_When it came down to someone needing to stop that giant robot, I had volunteered. I was just about to get inside and take it down when Bianca actually knocked me down. If I had been paying more attention, I would have been the one sacrificed, not her. And you would still have her."_

_Then, little Nico said something that surprised me. "And who would that have been better for? While you were away, I heard some things around camp about you and Percy. You two are _Twins_ not to mention, everyone seems to think you and Percy are the only ones standing in the way of the bad guys. What would happen if you died? Percy would be _devastated_, and our enemies would win. As much as I hate to admit this, Bianca knew what she had done wrong, and she tried to fix it. She was always trying to fix everyone's problems, always trying to protect other people even when it hurt her. She practically raised me," Nico paused for a second, gathered himself as it looked like he was about to cry. "I loved her, and while I wish she was here with me now, I'm glad she has a chance now to be free, to worry about herself."_

_If it was for the absolute control I had, I would have broken down right then and there. I knew if I said anything, I would start crying, but I felt a need to say something, to comfort him. "Nico, if she is as you describe then maybe she is safer in the Underworld. This world, the war that is coming, isn't a place for someone like her. It would have tainted her before long. She wouldn't be here for much longer because this world of ours sucks the kindness out of you, it uses you till you have nothing left to give. People like her are rare, and as much as I hate to say it, they don't belong."_

_Maybe it was my far off look, maybe something in my eyes and face told him I was saying this from experience, because he touched my hand gently and squeezed it, drawing me out of my thoughts._

"_You remind me of her. Stay strong, yeah?" his voice was soft and almost begging, as if he was afraid to lose me too._

_It confused me as I couldn't understand why he would care about me. I was the one that let his sister, his only family left, die. _

A hand touched my gently and brought me out of my memories. Kind, concerned black eyes stared at me, bring me further into the present. "You okay, Isa?"

I gave him a small smile, one tainted by my previous lost in the darkness thoughts. "Just remembering the last time the two of us stood here." I focused on Nico as I remembered something I wanted to ask him. "I've been wondering, what happened after I left camp. You've changed would be an understatement. It's like you've aged…"

I couldn't even complete that thought as I couldn't figure out how he somehow gained like five years in half a year. He was like twelve when we met the first time in that school before we brought him back to camp, and now he seemed to be my age.

Nico hesitated as if he wasn't sure what he wanted to tell me. "The things you and Percy taught me those last few weeks after you returned to camp without Bianca," it seemed as if thinking of her still hurt but the wound wasn't fresh, as if he had come to terms with her death years ago, "made me realize that I needed to become stronger if I was going to survive this war. I ended up getting lost in the Underworld, training," he looked sheepish at his confession and seemed reassured when I chuckled quietly, "and I stumbled across a spirit that trained me in a special part of the Underworld. So for me these last six months or so were actually six years. Then I got in a bit of a mess with a ghost…it was actually what led me to come here to warn Percy."

Wow, that was a lot to take in. Six years?

I honestly didn't know if I got that chance, would I take it. Maybe if I was older I wouldn't have to worry about the prophecy…sigh. No.

I hate to admit it, but Nico was right. His last words to me was to be careful and, he hinted, that I shouldn't end up like Bianca.

But I was going to.

If it isn't the thing with Luke that doesn't do me in, emotional or physically, it was going to be the prophecy with Percy. If I had to, and I knew it was going to come down to this, I had to figure out how to take Percy out of the picture in the next year. Apollo still owned me a favor, or so he said, so I wonder if he would shove Percy somewhere until after our birthday? Until after the battle?

I think the both of us knew, deep down, that this shit was going to end with me saving or destroying the world.

And I'd take that burden if it meant Percy was safe and free.

"How exactly did you end up in a place called Forks?"

This random question had me tossing aside my dark thoughts. I actually looked at him completely shocked before I busted out laughing to the point I was almost crying. "After all the shit you've been through and what we're about to do, you're asking me why I went to a place called Forks?" I continued to chuckle before I controlled myself.

His question for reasons I can't explain just seemed so out of place and hilarious. Maybe it was me finally going insane, but it was so laugh worthy.

"My uncle, a son of Hekate, noticed some vampires (a special kind called Cold Ones) moved into his town, and he was worried for the mortals. He'd given up this life, so he asked me to take care of it. Chiron thought it would be a good idea to observe them and report back any information I could get ahold of incase any decide to join with Kronos. It should have been an easy mission, but…" I trailed off, my mind going back to Jasper. An intense longing filled me, and I felt a deep ache in my chest that I knew was the mating pull and wouldn't ease up until he was with me, by my side.

"But something happened," Nico pressed, and I turned to him with guarded eyes.

"Yeah," I confirmed as I ran a hand through my semi-long hair. That reminded me, I was going to have to get one of the girls in that cabin to braid it again. Sometimes I thought about cutting it, make it easier to deal with. "It complicates things a shit ton, especially with Luke." Then, in a rare moment, I decided to confess something. I felt safe in Nico's company, and it just came out.

"I honestly don't know how this is going to turn out, but there is one outcome that I'm actually afraid will happen. I've been dreading it ever since I found it Luke was a traitor." I swallowed hard, "and I just know with me being Fate's bitch, that it'll happen. Luke will finally ask me and I will join him. It'll kill Percy. But I don't think I have a choice."

Tears started to form in my eyes, and it was taking everything I had not to let them fall.

I felt so alone, so lost, so hopeless, so…fucking trapped. And it was killing me. The only solution I could think of was not thinking about it. These feelings only overwhelmed me when I had time to think, so I just had to start this Quest and stop thinking, only reacting.

But Nico just had to fuck things up just like Annabeth did.

Nico gently took my chin in his hand and turned me to look at him, his dark, deep eyes that held something I couldn't think about, had no chance to think about.

If I let myself think…everything would be undone.

"You _always_ have a choice, Neve-ina," he whispered, and it took a few moments of time for his words to register in my mind.

Just having him in my face, everything right in front of my face was a little distracting, but I pushed it away when horror set it as I registered his words.

_He knew, he knew!_

I only knew what that name meant because I knew a girl last year who was from Italy and had such a name.

He called me little Snow. _He knew!_

How was it that Nico, who had only been with me a few hours, had known something my brother hadn't even figured out?

I backed up and started hyperventilating.

He called me little Snow, which meant he knew that I wasn't that perfect little Daughter of Poseidon anymore. I was hardening, changing, becoming darker.

I was becoming Ice.

And it was only a matter of time before my power changed. When I called upon my control of water, I could feel it. I could feel the power in me trying to change it, harden it.

Because I was changing, because I was become darker, and I knew it was only a matter of time before I changed so much, so completely, that giving into Luke wouldn't be a problem of conscious or moral anymore.

I would give into the darkness and wouldn't care.

I would join Kronos and not care the damage, the betrayal, my actions caused.

I wonder how much longer, how much longer I could endure before Nico started to call me Verna.

Nico seem to realize that he had started a panic attack in me and didn't know what to do.

Annabeth did.

I hadn't gotten very far, only a few steps away from Nico, and Annabeth had come stomping toward me. I heard her steps as well as the things she was mumbling under her breath as she approached me that I spun around.

When she got close, she shoved me causing me to stumble backwards.

Nico caught me, but something that he already had around his waist did too.

It was then I realized Nico had his own sword that was attached to him by a chain. Very dark and emo of him.

I also felt something from the sword…it gave off the same hum that my swords did. I'd figure it out later because now Annabeth was causing a scene, one where she was pitching a fit.

"It isn't fair. Ever since you came into the picture, I haven't gone on any Quests. We know damn well it was me that was supposed to be with Percy, and we both know I'm extremely smarter than you, seaweed for brains, and would have been a better addition to the team."

I interrupted, and something inside of me snapped. "Yeah, and we know how that turned out. Six months ago, you invited yourself on a retrieval mission and look where it go us!" I almost screamed. "You got captured and used against all of us. Lady Artemis suffered because of you. Luke…" I was breathing heavily now. "Luke almost _died_ because of you! If it wasn't because of you, Kronos would have _never_ had him hold that rock up. Lady Artemis would never have been captured so she could save you. Zoe would have never died, Bianca wouldn't have either! All that is on you, Annabeth, because you are so fucking sure of yourself. Because you think you are better than me, can do a better job than me. Your hubris is what got people killed, and _Percy_ almost died!"

It was at that moment I felt a cold start to spread. Later, I was told that the more I went on, the softer my voice became, the colder it became.

Nico had held me back from beating the shit out of her, and it was the grip he had on me, the pain from it (though I barely noticed it as I had a high pain tolerance), that started to bring me back and the cold started to fade.

It seemed like no one had noticed but the two of us, but Nico was used to the cold. As a Son of Hades, he kept a colder temperature than most of us. As children of the God of the Sea, Percy and I didn't really notice temperature as the Sea was hot and cold.

Annabeth looked shaken as I spat my words at her, but it didn't stop her from continuing on. "I issue a challenge for the right to go on this Quest, Daughter of Poseidon."

I narrowed my eyes. If one had a right, then they could issue a challenge and, potentially, bypass a ruling by whoever was in charge.

She had no rights to issue any challenge at me. At least ones pertaining to the Quests. If she knew about Jasper, her half-brother, she could issue a challenge for my right to be with him. And if Percy had been dumb enough to engage her in a relationship, I would have pulled out a challenge before she could blink.

But she didn't know about Jasper. A part of me wondered if she did know, and if she did manage to win the fight, could she offer to twist it by giving me a blessing only if she was allowed on the Quest? It was possible, I guess, but she didn't know about Jasper.

So what right did she have to issue a challenge?

I kept my cool and embraced the ice. I needed a calm, and it seemed only the ice could offer it. "And what right do you have to issue such a challenge, Daughter of Athena?"

She seemed to pause there as if she didn't expect me to question it.

Fool. I did my homework, if only to protect Percy. It was my job to make sure that he was protected from everything, even if it was himself.

"Before you came, Chiron told me that there was a prophecy about me, and it said that I would go on Quests on the condition of going with a certain Demigod. That was Percy, but ever Quest that has come, you have blocked me. I issue the challenge based on my own Prophecy that you are blocking."

That was not something I expected. To purposely interfere with a prophecy…I knew it was frowned upon, but no one had ever done so (or was caught), so nothing had ever been done before. As far as I know, this was the first time someone had ever brought it up.

Once again, because of the stupid rules and laws of those fucking gods, I had no choice in my course of action.

No matter what Nico said, we had no choices.

I nodded my acceptance, but as customary, I offered my own reward. "If I win, you will not only leave Percy _alone_ as in you will pursue no relationship with him, but you will stop all these instances of Quest joining. If you want a Quest of your own, find one yourself."

Annabeth's jaw dropped as we heard whispers around us as my first condition. We both knew I had every right to request it. Even if we were not battling over her right to engage in such a relationship, it was still a battle between us.

I watched this Daughter of Athena grit her teeth. I knew she was kicking herself because she hadn't thought about it.

"If I win, then I want to opposite," Annabeth countered.

I narrowed my eyes. As sister to Percy, I had the right to bar her from getting together with him, but I also lost the right, as any old sister, if I lost. But I had something even more special than just being a sister, I was a _Twin_.

I smirked wickedly. "I don't think so. You seem to forget, Annabeth, just what Percy is to me. He is my _Twin_. That means something different. If I was just an old sister of his, yes, if I lost, I couldn't stop you, but I am his _Twin_, which means, if you didn't know," I spoke in a condescending tone, "that if I don't approve of his lover, then there is nothing you can do because _we share a soul_. I don't know if you know, but Twins are tied together quite differently than ordinary siblings. We have a Soul Bond, a connection between our hearts, bodies, and souls, so if I feel anything but affection and love for you, Percy will as well. At this moment, I detest you." I shrugged then as I gave it a second thought. "If you want a relationship with someone who will despise you in the depths of his soul, go ahead, take it on to your winnings."

She gritted her teeth and actually snarled at me as she knew I was right.

It only took her a few moments to use that brain of hers to think of something else. "Then I want a chance. A chance to change your mind."

This shocked me deeply to my core. And it wasn't just me, but I felt the same feeling coming from Percy along our bond. So far, all I had felt from him was a longing for armor then embarrassment and awkwardness about my fight with Annabeth.

Nico tightened his grip on me to remind me he was there.

Something in me lightened at that moment.

And I was reminded that I had two mates out there that I needed Percy to give a chance. But what if I was right, what if the only reason they wanted each other was because of the Love Spell?

Even before Annabeth had started to hate me, I hadn't felt any affection for her, but was it because I hadn't given her a chance? I didn't like her because of the way she treated me. Her jealousy was annoying. It wasn't like I had come to camp with an attempt to steal any guy she had set her sights on. Luke or Percy.

But then Percy was annoyed and jealous at Luke first. He thought I had been paying too much attention to Luke and not enough to him. And he doesn't like Jasper right now, but that was only because he was my brother.

Wasn't he annoyed at Nico when they first met because of Nico's hero worship and constant attention?

Wait, why I was a considering Nico?

I focused back on Annabeth. There was just something about her that tugged at me, something that at my core I detested.

It was like my soul recognized her and wouldn't give her a chance.

Like she had already betrayed me and had done something unforgiveable.

But so had Percy. The more time we spent in this world, the more it was tearing us apart.

But Percy had always been my brother, even _before_. It was only because _she_ had gotten in his head, and her lover in hers…

Where the fuck were those thoughts coming from?

I knew I looked confused, my mind was playing tricks on me, memories that weren't mind, feelings that weren't mine.

Then, suddenly, there was a guilt that I shouldn't have felt as well as an intense regret that sure as hell wasn't mine.

Percy had a mate out there, I was absolutely sure. And so did Annabeth, but it wasn't the two of them. They had someone to balance them, but I wasn't sure I had met them yet.

Maybe that was the problem, _before_, they hadn't met their true mates.

And mine wasn't whole in the oneness.

Oh, my brain hurt.

Nico squeezed my arms again to get my attention, and I found myself nodding, agreeing to her request.

Everyone backed up, and I noticed out of the corner of my eye that Nico and Percy were standing by each other.

_Focus girl; ignore them._

What was it with me and men that distract me?

Annabeth and I started to circle each other.

"Weapon?" I asked, giving her the option of choosing first.

She pulled out her knife, the one she had been given by Luke. "You can use anything you're the best with; come out me with all you got."

I grinned darkly. "You've given me a chance to test out my favorite birthday present."

I pulled the two pens out, clicked them, and then twirled them in my hands till I had them in a reverse grip.

Her eyesight was good because she could the hilts. "What the hell is with those owls?"

I smirked. "A reminder of whom they were gifted from. You might have heard of him, Jasper Whitlock, one of Lady Athena's _favorite_ children."

I heard Percy groan at my words, and Nico sigh. "The two of you are too alike."

Yeah, Percy tended to mouth off at people without thinking. It's why most of the Gods that we met don't like him.

Annabeth's eyes blazed in deep rage as she realized quite a few things with my words. And with this challenge already started based on a relationship challenge, she couldn't issue another one. Besides, she couldn't be completely sure of our relationship, only assume. But the biggest thing that triggered this intense anger was the fact that I mentioned another sibling of hers that her mother adored. A sibling who proved his worth over and over, and yet, here she was, a disappointment to her mother with no glory to her name.

She charged me with the knife and I barely even moved when I dodged her. She let her emotions consume her, and I just played with her. I was careful to toss an attack every few of hers, but I mostly was just dodging her ill-thought out attacks with minimal effort.

"If this is all you've got," I said after three minutes into our dance, "then it was a good thing I decided never to let you in on our Quests. You'd get us killed quick. You let your emotions get the best of you, and whatever skill you have is gone."

With a quick move, I disarmed her. One of the first moves Luke taught me; to which I mastered in less than a half hour.

Something she remembered as it made her even angrier.

I could see how this would look to her. I had taken everything away from her. Her first friend, her first love, her second (possibly true love), and any chance she had of proving herself to a parent that ignored her. She lived at camp all year, and I heard there was a deep rift between her and her mortal father—who didn't have time for her either.

I had pushed the right buttons for her, and she came at me with another knife she had hidden with an intent to kill.

I had to take her seriously then, and she kept me on the defensive.

She feinted a stab at my right, and I pulled up my left sword up to block her attack, but I didn't expect her fight physically. Instead of attacking my left, she went down and tripped me. I threw myself backwards, something Jasper had taught me, upper cutted her chin with my feet, and, thanks to Rose and Em, I was able to pull off a back flip while keeping my three quarters swords in my hands when I righted myself.

I had never got it before. I had always had to drop the swords so I could support myself with my hands and use them as a brace. I would do the back flip, but in going backwards, I would put my weight into my hands and channel that weight into my legs and feet as I kicked my opponent.

She flew back and dropped her knife due to the force of my kick.

When I righted myself, I stayed still, breathing a little heavy. I let her get up, but she didn't do it quietly.

I guess the thought that I was better than her, a daughter of her mother's rival (and often bad blood between them), as well as all the Luke stuff, just made her snap.

"It's your fault, you know," her eyes yelled at me with intense hate, but her voice wasn't that loud as she picked up both knives, "If it wasn't for you, Luke would have never left, would have never become a traitor. He was fine until you came along. _You_ changed him. You blame me for him falling off the cliff that Percy threw him off of," I felt my Twin wince and a bit of guilt and regret again flowed through, "_You_ drove him to Kronos. _You _killed Luke."

I don't know if I believed her words, but something inside me shattered. Whether or not I was at fault for what happened to Luke didn't matter. Maybe it wasn't her fault. Maybe it wasn't Percy's fault.

But the thought of him dead, no matter whose fault…just killed something inside of me. I know it was mostly it was from the Love Spell that stupid goddess put on me, but there was something else too.

Ever since I met Luke, I've had a connection with him. And I owed him. He was my mentor; he showed me who I was inside; he helped me become someone who could survive, who could be what Percy needed me to be.

And the thought that I got him killed in light of the great debt I owed him, it shattered a core part of me.

I felt as if I had betrayed Luke.

More importantly, I had broken some sort of balance, crossed some sort of line that I should never have crossed.

I had failed my duty, my purpose, and what did that leave me with?

All I had left was it. Everyone else had betrayed me, and I only had solace in who I was at my core, my duty, my purpose, but if I failed at that?

I was nothing.

And this little bitch who thought so highly of herself, always my antagonist, always my opposite, always _his_ antithesis, his love her hate.

She had caused _everything_. It was her fault!

If I was nothing, if I had fallen, then it all came back to her.

It is always her jealousy, her anger that made everything wrong.

She destroys everything.

It is her fault about Luke—_about my soul mate._

We had been whole, together, peace—

Suddenly, I had an intense need to punish her. She needed to be punished for the pain and destruction she had caused. It was her fault that everything had gone to Hades. That my life, my soul, had been shattered.

And here she was doing it again.

She was weak, and it had originally driven Luke down that path.

And now, she had furthered it along. If it hadn't been for her, that night on top of that mountain, Luke wouldn't be forced into the position he was in now. I wouldn't so close to losing him to a fate worse than death.

I wouldn't be so close to losing everything I've ever loved—Percy, Jasper, Nico, _my fucking self_—and it's her fault!

It wasn't in heat, in anger, in fire that I attacked her with an intent to kill her or give her a fate worse than death.

No, there was something deep inside of me, something that gave me a sense of ease, rightness, about the punishment I was about to inflict on her. A coldness had taken over me, freezing my soul even more than it was already.

A sense of peace came over me even with this sudden murderous intent guiding my hands.

It was ironic, really, by breaking me into believing that I had fallen even further than who I was, that I had lost the person who I always been, she had given me back who I truly was.

She had given me back who I was at the core of my soul, buried deep, buried so deep, deeper than Tartarus, _damn that curse_.

I wasn't scared anymore of the cold, of the ice. It was my friend.

I had lost it because of her, so it was only fitting she return it to me.

None of these thoughts, these revelations made since to me, only the sense of peace I felt at the cold, of my current actions.

I wouldn't kill Annabeth, no, I would do something worse than that, and the consequences didn't even matter.

I didn't care in that moment what others would think of me, of what revenge Athena would inflict on me, or, if, Percy distanced himself, or even if Nico and Jasper wanted nothing to do with me when I was finished with her.

No, it wasn't that I didn't care. I did care. It would kill me if those three didn't want me anymore. But I was accepting whatever came because that is what it meant for Retribution.

My eyes had changed, or so Percy told me before we went to sleep that night. The whites of my eyes were gone, replaced by black. The rest of my eye, the center was just a clear ice-blue. Nico told me had seen gold in the black.

I was so fast that most of the other Demigods didn't even see me _move_. I flip the edges of my swords so that the Stygian Iron was showing, for the blades were two colors though they were pure Stygian Iron: one side was the grey of the Stygian Iron and the other was Ice-Blue. I stabbed my right blade into her left arm. As she screamed, I swung the blade in my left hand toward her leg or was it her midsection? She didn't need children did she? That would be a cruelty to the world, wouldn't, letting more Annabeth's run around? But I suppose I could be kind and just target her leg. Hitting the hand and leg would give her such motivation to overcome to the handicaps and become stronger, right? And if she overcame them and became so strong and gained her mother's attention, then she would thank me, right? Unless she fucked this up too, then I would be doing the world even more favors by taking her out of commission.

Decisions, decisions.

I think it was indecision on where to strike that gave Nico the chance to grab my left wrist to stop the quick decent.

"Stop," was a soft but hard command from the Son of Hades. I felt his power in that one word. I felt it coursing deep inside of me, hitting that spot deep inside of my soul that was already hard Ice not soft, changeable Snow.

Percy took the opportunity that Nico gave him, grabbed my right arm, and pulled, causing the traitorous bitch to scream some more as my blade left her hand.

So I stabbed her hand not arm, huh.

Even after coming to myself and seeing what I had done, I felt no regret or remorse. I may have let the ice recede somewhat, but it didn't change anything.

The ice had already spread and it was too late.

Maybe.

I felt something I had never felt before approach. My attention snapped to him, but I still held the whimpering girl on the ground in my sights.

A man looked to be in his fifties approached us. I noticed immediately the burned mark on his neck, but I couldn't place it. Before I could really look at him, he went straight to Annabeth.

"This ends now," he said as he knelt down and looked at her wound carefully. "You two are family, you shouldn't be fighting."

I sensed something in him when he said that, like it was something he learned the hard way.

His eyes widened when he took in her wound, one that wasn't healing, and I had no doubt he could feel that she was missing something now.

The old man's eyes snapped to my swords, which were still in my hands despite Nico and Percy holding them still in some way. They narrowed as they took in the color of one side of the blade. "Where did you get Stygian Iron, girl?"

I narrowed my eyes. "I do not like your tone, whoever you are."

"Quintus," my brother supplied with no emotion. "He is helping out Chiron because Mr. D's away."

"Do you even known what it does to people it is used on?" he questioned, his voice harsh as he went back to Annabeth's hand.

A part of like that I had inflicted some lasting injury in her. There was no way that wound was going to truly heal. Yeah, the skin, bone, and tissue will grow back, but it will always be missing a bit of itself.

That's what Stygian Iron does, it takes the essence of what it cuts into.

"Oh I know what it does," I told him darkly. "It is only fitting that she share in the fate of Luke."

I didn't explain why I knew this was a fitting punishment because I didn't truly understand it.

It seemed that meeting Jasper, and maybe this new Nico, had triggered something inside of me. Maybe it was Annabeth too. But something awakened that I didn't understand. Memories, feelings, the _ice_…

I had told Nico not too much earlier that I had been scared of the ice, of the change it represented, but now, I didn't. I wanted to embrace it because it was me.

Something else I didn't understand.

The old man that didn't exactly seem like an old man waved his hand toward the two holding me. "Take her back to her cabin; she needs to cool down," I snorted as it was funny—this was all caused by my 'cooling down,' of becoming colder, "before she goes on her Quest. I have half a mind to tell Chiron not to let her go, but I think with Annabeth recovering, she needs to be gone."

I sheathed by swords, so to speak, and, as they retracted, Percy and Nico lead me back to my cabin.

There is nothing but silence between us because all three of us were thinking about the irreversible change that had just happened.

All we knew was that before camp, Percy and I had the Sea singing inside our blood, in our soul.

Now? Now, mine was freezing over.

And none of us understood it.


	3. Chapter 3

**Moon Says: **So not as long, but I had it planned to end right here. I hadn't meant for the last chapter to go that long either, but hey. But here is another chapter for those that want me to finish this story first. I plan on at least getting up to around, maybe 5 or so chapters, before the end of the year. My goal is to make it even with the others. Anyway, I finished it before 2AM, so I will upload it later today—that didn't happen, sorry. Enjoy.

**Words/Pages: **2420/6

**Written/Edited/Posted: **11/7-8** -**11/9 -

**Twilight of the Gods**

**~Chapter 3~**

It was well into the night when I finally got a minute to myself. Percy had finally fallen asleep without saying a word to me all day. I knew he needed time to process what had happened, but most importantly, he need to come to terms with the change in me.

Nico had taken a long, deep look at me before he left the two of us. I expect he thought Percy and I would talk, but we didn't.

I didn't mind. I had a lot of thinking to do too.

Which I didn't do. Instead, I just looked out of the window in the back of the cabin out at the water.

I had come to terms with the ice in my soul, though shaking and confusing as it was.

When Percy had dosed off, I went straight to the dock that the cabin connected to, and I just sat there.

Water had always seemed to calm me. I had always found some sort of peace just by feeling it. Percy and I had always thought it was because of the Ichor in our blood that we inherited from father.

When I got tired of the stupid dock, I headed to the beach a little away from the camp.

I was only there for a few minutes before someone joined me.

I knew who it was even before I even saw him let alone him sitting down.

How could I not? Just being near Nico gave off certain feelings in me, feelings that I buried deep.

I had thought I was too old to be tempted by sexiness. Yeah, I'd freely admit Nico was one of the hottest males I had seen, but I didn't have time to have a crush on his looks.

Luke was counting on me.

When he sat down near me, I had been afraid for a second. The more we spent time together, the more we talked, the more I realized how much I could like him, even love him.

I didn't have time for that.

I already had two mates…I didn't need to be in love with someone else. My love life was already complicated as it was.

Nico seemed to understand that, damn him.

Even when giving me the space I needed not to complicate my life anymore, he seemed to be doing that without doing it!

He had to have a special gift. A gift granted to him by Fate, because, I was her, their, bitch.

What was it with all the gods wanted to fuck with my life? Hadn't they already messed with enough? Hadn't I given enough to them?

I couldn't sleep, maybe Nico couldn't either, but we only sat there in perfect silence for hours.

Hours until, just as dawn was coming over the water, I felt something from the water. I narrowed my eyes, tensed as I carefully stood up.

Nico seemed to pick up on my signals quite well as he got up too and drifted to our left, somewhat fading into the shadows of the night that were still present.

Others may not have been able to see him, but I could. I could see and feel him.

_Damn them all!_

I didn't to worry, and my hands left my pockets (they had gone there without my knowledge, instinct I guess, reaching for my weapons). It was my half-brother, Tyson, that was coming out of the water.

I gave the big lug a small smile before he came almost charging at me.

I giggled as he picked me up and swung me around. "Little sister!" he greeted happily.

"Put me down, Tyson," I tried to keep my laughs in. I had missed his innocence. His light.

"I thought you were happy down in the forges with all the other Cyclops," I questioned when he did put me down. "What are you doing here? Not that I'm not happy you're here, because I am."

Tyson always liked my rambles. "Dad sent me; he said you and Percy might need me."

I sighed. Sometimes I wondered about my father. Whether he loved me or not, whether he gave a shit about me or not.

It seemed he was always trying to make sure Percy and I understood he did care, but he did a sucky ass job of making it obvious.

I accepted Tyson's answer and sent my half-brother to go bug Percy. It was about time that he got up and we headed out anyway. The sooner we left, the better. I had heard time in the Labyrinth wasn't always clear.

We didn't have long before the attack happened.

When I sent Tyson off, it was with the intention that I wouldn't have to see Percy for a little bit longer. But then I forget that that our bags were back in my cabin.

I groaned.

Nico raised an eyebrow as he walked toward me and out of the shadows.

"I have to go get our bags…"

Nico grinned as he titled his head toward a tree in the direction of my cabin, "those bags?" he asked.

I grinned too.

The two of us grabbed them and headed toward the entrance.

Unfortunately, on the way, I got attacked by a Hellhound.

"Shit," I hissed out as I dodged the infernal beast. I only pulled out one of my blades, and when it came back at me, it came out in a way with a high enough speed attached to it that I couldn't use my sword and could only dodge again.

"You want to call it off, dog-whisperer?" I grumbled at Nico. I figured it was logical that a Son of Hades could make the things obey.

When I spared him a glance, he was learning up against a tree without a care in the world.

My lack of attention gave the hound a chance, and it pounced me.

I hit the ground fucking _hard_.

I expected it to bite and claw at me, not fucking _lick_ me.

Then I heard laughter all around. My glare at the five males around me silenced them all. Nico did some sort of whistle and the giant dog got off me.

"Nice to see you and Mrs. O'Leary getting along," Quintus said.

I ignored him and brushed myself off. When I was done, I put my sword-pen away and turned to the other male I hadn't expected. Grover.

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Not that I don't want you to come along, but what are you doing here, Grove? You don't like going Underground…"

The Satyr then went to same something about Pan, getting kicked out, etc, etc.

I waved him off before I remembered a part of the prophecy. "Pan is the lost god, yeah?" I questioned with a far off look in my eye.

I had Grover's attention, "Yeah, why do you ask?"

"The Prophecy said something about a Lost One….so here's to hoping the Oracle was talking about the Pan being the Lost One…" I trailed off, kind of into giving him hope, but then something distracted me.

The Dead and the Ghost King…maybe it was talking about Nico. Was the spirit he met a Ghost that used to be King?

Then my mind flashed to something else, something else that had confused me that I saw yesterday, but I shoved it down before I could form any thoughts about it.

_No, do not go there! Luke needs you…_he _is your mate. The debt, remember?_

When I focused back on my group, it seemed the only one paying attention to me was Nico. Percy had divided his attention between Grover and Quintus who gave my brother something.

I shrugged it all away and headed toward the entrance. The four males coming with me rushed after me.

It was time to enter into the maze. Hopefully, the Gods would be on our side and we'd find the creator of the maze before Luke did.

~TotG~

It wasn't long after we entered the Labyrinth that we were stopped by the god Janus.

I knew he was there for me. I knew there was a decision I had to make, and it was on the edge, the crisp, of my mind, but I shoved it down and buried my head deeper in the sand.

I prayed, unconsciously, that this decision go away, and for once, and probably the only time I my life, I was actually answered.

Lady Hera appeared in the room and told Janus to go away because she business with me.

Usually when they had business with us Demigods, it meant that there was a test, a task that they needed us to fulfil.

Lady Hera only has eyes for me, and she gives off a pleasant outward demeanor.

"While I have inferred with Janus, I have only postponed your decision, my child," the goddess warns me and at the same time make sure she had done me a favor.

I bowed my head, "Thank you, Lady Hera. What is it that I may do for you?"

The Goddess of Marriage smiled as if I had just made her day. "I wanted you to know that I have been listening to you as you may have surmised from earlier. As I am here, I thought I'd spare you more hours of agony by telling you that I am impressed of your insistence of staying true to the beliefs of marriage. As a reward, I not only approve of your mates, my dear, and bless your union, but also offer you a onetime wish. It is very rare that I come across one of our…children whose faith and persistent dedication to our family is so evident. It is very clear, that you out of all your fellow Demigods, know how truly important family is. I am sure I do not have to explain to any of you," this time she looked at the others, "how much family means to me."

Lady Hera seem to look at all of us, and all throughout her speech, I could sense a true actress. She was impressed with me, that much was truth, but I also knew of her intense dislike of those of us who were half mortal. The thing most did not know about Lady Hera was that at first she disliked you, but once you prove yourself to her, she was a stance supporter of you. And to have the Queen of the Gods on your side…

"When we have nothing but time and the distractions of the world, it all comes down to family. Family will always be there when the distractions lose their enticement."

It wasn't much more than a year ago that Lord Hermes had come to me saying something of the same. Family is family even if you quarrel. At the end of the day, family was all one had.

Lady Hera was right; family comes first, family is the most important thing to us all.

"Family is important as you say Lady Hera, so I have made my choice. Luke is family, so how can I save him, Lady Hera?"

She seemed proud of me that I understood the importance of family. Maybe she thought the key to saving our family was to take the enemies best weapon against us away from them.

"From what I have seen, since the first opportunity was…" she paused as she tried to think of way to say it, "thrown away to save the boy, there is only one way I can think of to save him now. You must not stop Luke from completely his purpose."

I saw something in her eyes, something that told me this was a test. I had a feeling that to save Luke I would have to join him, this all but confirmed it, but there was something else that Lady Hera wasn't telling me.

Did she want me to be a spy for them? Did she want me to take them down from the inside? Or was this a test for me to do the impossible? Or, better yet, was this a test to see if I stayed loyal? I wouldn't put it past the gods to throw me directly in a situation to test my loyalty; after all, they needed to know they could trust me not to do anything but preserve them.

"But how do we get to him? None of us know how to navigate the Labyrinth. How can we save him if we cannot get to him?" Percy's voice clearly showed his frustration.

Lady Hera may not have like his tone, but she understand that her answer was missing a solution of some kind. "Percy, here, already knows how to get through the Labyrinth."

Lady Hera then seemed to believe that she had fulfilled the wish she granted to me, but she did not leave immediately. Instead, she left me with some parting words.

"I wonder, my dear child, if you can save our family and Luke." Lady Hera looked at Nico beside me before her eyes turned back to me, "Little One, remember that not everything is as it seems."

Then she and Janus were gone.

Maybe this was really just a test to see if I put them first before myself.

Grover was close to shitting himself; Tyson wasn't really paying attention.

Percy seemed just as confused as me, but Nico seemed to be lost in thought as if Lady Hera had given him something to think deeply on.

Then, he turned to me, and there was something in his eyes that scared me. It told me that he had figured something out from her words—that she only confirmed what he already knew. His dark eyes tried to convey that, but my fear at whatever it was blocked whatever it was he was trying to tell me.

I resisted, and as I did so, Percy seemed to connect a few dots himself. This just left me frustrated that they knew something I didn't.

But what it really did was only made me more scared.

Whatever it was, it was something I feared; otherwise, I wouldn't have been trying to bury it and my head in the sand.

Just like I had been doing for all of my life, I shoved that shit down, forget myself, and focused on those that needed me.

Nico's warning about being like Bianca lost somewhere in the back of my mind.


	4. Chapter 4

**Moon Says**: Yeah, I'm awful. I love this fic, but I guess since I mapped it out and did some extra stuff in my head, I have lost some interest. You must help me get back on track. Please remind if I go too long without updating. Though I cannot guarantee anything because my thesis, though I love Loki dearly, will be keeping my time. And my L. Frank Baum class. Enjoy! -(months later) Hate me, okay, I feel awful. I got so caught up in a mental breakdown over my thesis, roommate, and a lot of other life stuff, that I forgot about this. Forgive me?

**Twilight of the Gods**

**~Chapter 4~**

I felt somewhat conflicted after my meeting with Lady Hera. While there was a hardness to me, the ice, to make sure I forgot all else and focus only on Luke and the Quest, there was a part that was trying to panic about everything.

Nico's warning. The boys. Every fucking thing.

But I've got enough practice over the years to shove that shit down.

Though I shove it all down, I could feel Percy through our bond. Part of him understood my need to save Luke—we both cared for him after all. But Percy dealt with Like and his betrayal differently than I did. He believed that I pushed it all aside and didn't take what Luke did the way I should—seriously. Part of Percy hated Luke for what the older male had done to us both.

But most of all, to me. Percy would probably have forgiven Luke if I wasn't involved. But Luke had hurt me so much. The Son of Hermes was still causing me all sorts of pain and trouble.

Percy would never stand for me to be in pain or hurt. Especially if the one doing the hurting was someone we trusted and cared for. He always thought himself my protector, but it's hard when I'm the one protecting him.

It hurt Percy that he couldn't protect me or take my pain away. And here I was still defending and trying to save Luke. More pain for me. And here I was repeatedly hurting Percy by doing just that.

I hated myself for what I was making Percy feel, but he had hurt me. So very much.

But that was no excuse.

I cleared my head as we came to an intersection. I had been trying to use my feelings as well as my sight to find a path that would lead us to the workshop of the creator of this stupid Labyrinth.

Which way to go? I close my eyes and just _feel_. I let the sight I get from lady Hekate guide me.

After all, wasn't the original tread that was used magic? A few moments passed before I felt a tug that reminded of Tyson softly tugging me.

When I opened my eyes, Tyson was the only one not looking at me all serious.

"Got a heading?" my Twin asked.

I refused to look at Nico as I turned ad nodded before heading down the path I felt.

This thing with Nico needed to stop. We were heading deeper into shit, and none of us could afford to be distracted, let alone there be distance between us. We all needed each other to survive. This shit could get us all killed.

But what else could I do? Luke. Percy. Jasper. Too much. Too many.

I didn't have the luxury of time to sort my feelings and thoughts out. If I stopped and did that, I was so afraid I'd lose Luke.

_And I just couldn't do that_.

I threw it out of my head (for the time being, apparently the bitch kept coming back) and headed down the tunnel to my left. Idiot that I am, I wasn't watching where I was going and stumbled. My foot twisted; it hurt, but it wasn't bad.

I caught myself by twisting and throwing myself against the nearest wall—which was to my left.

Tyson ran to me while the other stayed back as if to make sure that something wasn't coming out us from behind. They knew Tyson could take care of certain threats, and I was also there, so there really was no need to come toward me.

Or at least I _hope_ that was the reason. Probably not, and I wouldn't doubt it. Lately, everything about me was just getting so fucking screwed up.

It hit hard, in that moment, I didn't trust myself. It made sense, why I was avoiding everything, and where was Jasper when I needed him! If he was here, I could let myself go and try and figure this shit out. It wasn't that I didn't trust the others like I did him. No, it was more that I didn't trust myself in that vulnerable position around them. I knew he wouldn't get fucked up because my mind wasn't in the right place.

They could and would.

Tyson made sure that my body was in a good position before he checked out my foot. "Sister must be careful. It doesn't look bad," he gave me such a mom look with that one eye that I had to look elsewhere.

Percy frowned as my eyes went to him instead of our brother. "What's going on? You're not focusing…or rather you're focused on something else? I've never known you to be so clumsy during something like this. Walking in a school building or even to the bathroom at home you fall, but not in a life and death situation like this. We're stopping until we get this straightened out. Tripping during battle can get you—"

"us," I muttered as to remind myself of how fucking serious this was.

"—killed. So start talking," my Twin ordered.

That was new. Usually, I was the one that ordered him around even if on quests and stuff he was in charge. Though, I never really needed to. I guided Percy a bit differently than a full frontal assault.

I sighed, what could I tell him when I was afraid of telling myself? "Unlike you, Percy, I _feel_ more. I'm a girl," I tried to put it into words what I was feeling deep inside, stuff I tried to hide, and then it all came out and I didn't even think. "Something inside of me is awakening; I'm changing. I'm tired of this war, of sacrificing myself for…people who don't care what I'm giving up."

Percy took in my words and mulled them over. "So you _want_ to join Luke?"

"Yes…no." I closed my eyes struggling with this. "I'm sick of being used and tossed away and brought back when we're needed. Right now, I want to Titans to lose, the Gods to change, and us to have our peace."

Nico came into the conversation then, surprising me...how could I forget he was there? "You want an ordinary life? Slow and boring?"

That was the wrong question to ask, but something about it hit home for me. I shook my foot to see if the tingling stooped and if it was working again. It was, so I stepped off the wall and began walking again.

"Fighting and having a purpose is necessary for a Demi-Go due to the way we were shaped. I want to stop being used as a plaything by someone who is old enough to know better."

(TotG

I didn't expect to see Biares (who used to be such a BAMF that even _I _didn't want to fight him) let alone the monster Kampe. I quickly realized that we needed to leave before that monstrous female, working for the Titans (we are so screwed), discovered us here, but Tyson wasn't going to leave without the many handed giant.

That meant he had to come with us, and I had to figure out how to get him out. I looked between the cells—there was a hole Grover or I could fit through as we were the only ones small enough. My eyes then looked back to the one I was to rescue: chains. He was covered in chains. Though, they looked like basic locks really.

What did I expect, though, from creatures thousands of years old? They weren't going to get complicated.

There was no question of who was going to have to get in there. Grover sure as hell wouldn't, and he would be the reason we were caught.

What we do for family, right?

I took off my weapons—one that would hinder me from getting through the tight hole—and gave them to Percy.

Percy took them but the look on his face, and his mechanical movements told me I kind of shocked him.

Nico was the one who questioned me, "What the hell are you doing?"

"Getting Tyson his Biares because no one else is getting through that hole, and you sure as hell are doing anything to expose yourself," was my soft reply.

"It is no use, child. Leave all of you before you are caught."

"Shut up, you giant pussy," I growled lowly. "You were once something great and now look at you. You've forgotten what it means to be yourself, to have a purpose. Time has taken away yourself. Get it back. Don't let others decide who you are. If you want to die, be a man and do it yourself instead of moaning about how life sucks. Just _do_ something. Decide your own fate instead of just sitting there and rolling over like a good bitch."

It was harsh, but I've found that negative means work wonders when your trying to get someone moving. The downside with this insult approach? If they cause a scene because you piss them off. Or what they do when you piss them off.

Lucky for me, especially since I didn't have my really good weapons on me, Biares didn't attack. Instead, he looked thoughtful, especially with Tyson continually trying to appeal to him.

The giant did give me a look, somehow knowing that I needed those words just as much myself.

I quickly got him out of the chains and we left before the monster bitch found out.

We did hear her scream as we entered the well hidden tunnels.

I would have chuckled, but then Biares ran off, and my half brother became discouraged.

"Tyson, think about this. He may not have joined us, but he was _thinking_. Sometimes we need time to ourselves to figure out what we want…or _need_. Sometimes, it takes time and certain situations for us to come to terms with what is going on around us, and not only figure out what our choices are, but what those choices mean for ourselves. Getting away from the war will help him, and whatever he chooses, will be _his _choice. And we can ask nothing more than that, right?" I tried to explain and as soon as the words were out of my mouth, I got a soft hug from him.

"I understand now, sister…but what if you don't have time to take to figure things out?"

Sometimes I hated how that one eye saw so much.

I just sighed, again, and didn't answer. I didn't have one.

After that, we walked for about half an hour before I made everyone stop."

"Let's rest for a moment, some of us aren't used to all this," I wasn't offering, and they knew it. Of course, they all knew just who I was making the stop for.

Nico offered to take first watch as Percy and I took a nap.

As we slept, I started dreaming. I was shocked because it was the first half-blood dream I had. Percy had told me every time he ever had one of these, but I never had one.

Until now.


	5. Chapter 5

**Moon Says**: Here is the next chapter, as promised, right after! Even if it is like two months overdue. I hate myself, okay? I love this fic, but damn it, it's getting hard to find any will to write for it or WAR or even Intervention. Now, I want to write Vampire Dairies fanfics.

**UPDATE**: So yeah, I read over this and realized what an utter mess this was. Obviously, I'm all over the place with writing this fic. I don't know what I want to do. Edited it, added bits to make things clearer. Enjoy this and the next chapter! I'm hoping to progress and probably get past book 4 soon. Then we get into Twilight again.

**Twilight of the Gods**

**~Chapter 5~**

Not too long after we took a nap, Percy snapping awake woke me as well. It was clear by the look on both our faces that we had one of those dreams (though, it was a first for me).

I waved a hand at my twin to start.

"I had dreams about Daedalus' past. Fuck, that man is screwed up. He tries to escape this asshole king, and his son ends up dying. Then, he kills his nephew. I think Athena cursed him." Percy, it was clear, had been disturbed by those dreams.

I sighed. "This is what happens to half-bloods: we're all cursed."

"Go on, sister, what was your first demi-god dream about?" Percy encouraged me, no doubt as a way to escape the horror of his.

I looked at him. "Luke is working with a ghost. Said ghost is his string, so to speak. Apparently, this ghost was pissed because Luke seemed to have broken their deal."

"What deal?" Nico asked super focused on me.

I shrugged, trying to ignore the feelings his intense eyes on me sparked. "Luke met up with one that the ghost wanted revenge on, and got the same help from him. Said help was a way through the Labyrinth, and the ghost thought Luke had betrayed him for the string." That caused my eyes to widen as I realized just what I said. "String? Luke has the fucking string ball thing. He can get through the Labyrinth now. That is why he doesn't need the ghost anymore. "

"String…as in what Perseus used to navigate the maze with?" Nico questioned, but we all knew the answer.

Luke had a clear cut way to camp now.

We had no time to waste; we needed to find that fucking workshop ages ago.

~TotG~

Instead of getting to the workshop, I led us straight onto a farm…sorry, ranch.

Once the owner of the ranch saw us, we got a tour of said ranch. Tyson and Grover thought we were going to get a good rest and some real food in us, but instead, we wound up captured and getting sold.

To the Titans.

But Percy was quick and tried to think of a way out of this. He always did admire Hercules, but I always thought he was a dick.

While Percy was off trying to save us, the rest of us got thrown into a barn while we waited. So, in true demi-god fashion, I was not to be left out. While Percy was trying to buy time and save us, I tried to distract the bastard trying to sell us by asking all sorts of questions about the ranch or rather, more illegal activities he was doing.

The gods were not going to be please when they found out we were sold. It wasn't like we were demi-gods that could be replaced. We were the only children of the Big Three left (if we ignore the Hunter girl). So, yeah, they need us.

When he did start confessing, I'll admit that I was really shocked that the bastard admitted to selling Apollo's cows. That was a big fat no no. I was so going to tell the god.

And it had nothing to do with how hot he was or interesting. Not one bit at all...

That was this idiot's first mistake; his second was holding us demi-gods near a stash of weapons that just happen to be in the corner of this barn. (Where he also tossed the ones he got off of us.)

"You know, I am very pissed that you're selling these poor cows. Apollo is not going to be happy."

Geryon shrugged. "You ain't goin' tell 'im. Your boy isn't goin' to get that stable cleaned. So just get used to your future," then he seemed to think about something really hard."You know what, kill them, boy. We just need the one in the stables."

Third mistake, trying to get my cousin to kill us. When the immortal demi-god (was he a demi-god anymore?) refused, I knew I needed a new distraction. But what? Then a thought came to me. Why not use the man this idiot is currently getting pissed at?

Demi-god 101: use what is around you. Your head saves lives.

I turned toward Eurytion. "Cousin," getting his attention and interrupting the fucktard trying to get us killed, "what are you going to do when you're in charge? Please tell me you're going to stop selling those poor moo moos."

Geryon got upset at my attempt at mutiny and smacked me.

Again, he was such an idiot.

Let's recap, shall we: one, I wasn't bound with my hands behind my back. Two, he knocked me over in a sideways position where I could grab a knife that was on my right side. Three, the idiot turned around all angry toward the Son of Ares _leaving me his back_.

Eurytion saw the whole thing, no doubt seeing the opening created for me, and only shook his head.

I cut my binds, tossed the weapon to Nico, and ran to the weapons that this ignoramus just had laying around within reach of demi-gods.

Percy got there just in time to further distract Geryon. I grabbed the first weapon I came to, which were a bow and a few arrows.

"I did what you wanted, now let us go!" Percy demanded, and I was so proud of him when he didn't look at me (which may or may not have given away my position and element of surprise; but considering Geryon was an idiot, it may not have).

The idiot rancher refused and went on and on about money—which was the same reason why he was selling those poor moo moos.

Percy drew his sword and attacked. My brother even stabbed that nifty place in one's chest where hearts should be, but it wasn't enough as this bastard had three hearts.

After he backhanded Percy and my Twin flew back out of the building, the idiot decided to reveal why he was still alive despite his heart being stabbed: he had "the perfect backup system" in the form of not one but three hearts.

No one likes a bragger.

I steeled myself in the ice from before (especially when Percy was having trouble getting up due to where the asshole ended up throwing him and where the hit landed on my twin's body) as I needed the calm seeing what was happening to Percy—who looked very injured.

I prayed as before I released the arrow.

_Please guide my arrow Lady Artemis and Lord Apollo. Geryon needs to be put down due to his allegiance to the Titans and his betrayal of Lord Apollo. Guide this arrow through all his hearts and sent him to Lord Hades. _

I aimed and let loose the arrow and felt relief and gratitude when the arrow struck all three hearts.

_Thank you for the guided arrow_, I quickly thought to whoever was watching over me.

I dropped the bow and went to Percy who had been thrown and landed bad. "You okay?" I asked as I helped him up.

"Nice shot, sister-dear," Percy coughed instead of actually responding to my question.

Eurytion came up to me after that and returned my weapons to me. "Thank you, cousin, and yes, there will be no more selling of the cattle."

I laughed a little in relief (mostly due to the fact that that landing could have killed Percy and we were talking about cows) and turned to Tyson and Grover—relief swept through me again at seeing that Nico had helped then while I played hero.

Good.

After helping him, Eurytion was more than happy to help us get to workshop. "To get to the workshop, you might try getting there through Lord Hephaestus' Forge. Here, take this. It'll lead you there," the Son of Ares gave me a spider.

I smiled at him. "Thank you, cousin. The ranch is yours now."

"But how do I keep it that way? Geryon will come back; he always does."

Grover had the idea of "get the animals on your side."

Eurytion nodded, "Sounds like a plan."

"Thanks for the help, if it wasn't for you, we'd probably be sold right now." Percy said as he walked backwards towards the Labyrinth entrance.

"Or dead. Eurytion refused to kill us, and it gave me an opening." I let my brother in on a little of what had happened when he was cleaning the stables.

We said our goodbyes, and without any more time wasting, we followed the spider while filling the silence with story time.

~TotG~

"You want us to do what?" Percy questioned and sure as hell was looking like he was happy.

I sighed before I repeated the task set before us by Lord Hephaestus. "Lord Hephaestus has agreed to help us get that damn workshop so that we can stop the invasion into camp in exchange for taking back his forge."

"That happens to be in a volcano," Percy crossed his arms not looking at all impressed or motivated.

I almost glared at my Twin, "Yes, it's going to be dangerous, but risking our lives for the countless at camp? Worth it. Besides, aren't we built just for that?"

"I am fine with that, but I don't want you—" Percy didn't even finish that sentence when he caught sight of exactly how annoyed that was making me.

Our godly cousin behind us just chuckled as he took in our interactions—how I made my twin back down with just a look—for it amused it greatly.

When it was established that I was going, Nico gripped something tightly behind me so forcefully that I _heard_ his hand cracking as well as the item in question. "I'm going with the two of you. Tyson and Grover will stay here, if that is alright with you, cousin?"

The god behind me shrugged, though I could see something in his eyes as he looked between me and Nico swiftly. "The boy," referring to Tyson, "can assist me. Have you liked your armor, dear?"

Oh, how I loved the switch in topic. This had to be a sign, if a god was helping me avoid all that shit with Nico...

I smiled, "Amazing. You have my greatest thanks. Your daughter is a credit to you."

The old god smiled at me before he shooed me away with a spider that would guide us to the forge we headed to take back.

~TotG~

None of us spoke or made a sound till we had gone through the Labyrinth exit into the forge, and three things happened at once.

First, we were almost discovered by stupid enemy servants (ones who had taken over the Forge, and for the life of me, I couldn't remember what the damn things were called). Second, I threw us all to the side behind some cover, and my Twin and I hissed at the landing. Third, Nico did something cool with the shadows.

"What was that?" a nasty voice asked.

"I don't know, go look. But make it quick, we don't have a lot of time. I'm not going to die because you _think_ you heard something."

As the first one who spoke actually went around and looked right at us, I had one of my small knives pulled out, ready to fight, but he couldn't see us.

"What did you find?"

"Nothing but shadows," was the reply before the thing walked back and got wacked on the head by its partner.

"Idiot," the other said before they walked off.

I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths. That was close. While I was made for battle and felt the calmest and best during a battle, it was getting old, really.

I felt a hand on each shoulder and drew on their strength.

"What do we do now?" I wondered out-loud. "Should we report back to Lord Hephaestus? Or should we kill them all?"

"We don't know how many there are…" Nico cautioned, and Percy seemed hesitant as well.

"We are three demigods of the Big Three," Percy hinted, throwing the fact that the three of us are pretty powerful. Separate. But together?

I almost glared at my brother when I realized something. "But they don't know about Nico," I hissed at him. "And I'd like to keep it that way. The less they know about his parentage, the safer he is."

I closed my eyes and used my left hand to cover my face for a moment. After I spoke and opened my eyes, I refused to look at Nico and left him by back. Percy, though, had a curious look to him, but I had to ignore him.

I don't think I'd ever be ready to face what I knew deep down inside was true.

I couldn't.

Because, in the end, it all boiled down to one person: Luke.

I hardened myself with ice, because the gods knew I needed it. I had a job to do. Lord Hephaestus asked us to get his forge back. We needed to save camp.

And this was my life: sacrificing myself for the gods and their way of life.

"We are going to take back the forge, but if we get overwhelmed, run like hell to the entrance to the Labyrinth, block the exit, and get back to the others," my tone brooked no argument, but I could see the two of them wanted to fight on my orders.

Nico was giving me a look that told me I was an idiot, but he'd follow me because…

It looked like a look I'd given Percy so many times. I stood by the fool because I loved him and wanted to keep him from making things worse. After all, if I was there, I could do something to make sure everything didn't totally go to the Underworld.

Idiots. Both of them.

All sneaky like, the three of us snuck further into the forge, taking out all the telekhines out that we came across.

I remembered exactly what these creates were called when we got closer to the center of the forge. It was at the same time that I saw what they were doing because that is what these little insects did.

They were forging a Scythe. Kronos' Scythe.

Fear started take over me. If that thing was finished…

I tried to school my features, but by the tensing of my boys, I knew I wasn't successful. "Go, go back to Lord Hephaestus and tell him that the telekhines are forging grandfather's weapon. Go!" I urged, but I knew I was begging.

My head snapped turned the noise to the left of us. A telekhine.

We had been discovered. I begged my boys again, before I threw one of my small knives at the little bastard. It was dead, but it had raised the alarm.

The ice started to spread again, taking away my fear, and I wasted no time in taking my other sword out and launched myself at the reinforcements.

I was shredding through my enemies with no pause, but there were just too many, and I couldn't take them all. Percy hadn't left and neither had Nico.

We were going to die.

I refused to lose the two of them.

My eyes quickly took in our surroundings. In my attempt to stay alive and protect them, I hadn't noticed where we had been led to. We were on a big platform with water underneath us, just sitting there. No doubt meant to be used on weapons forged.

I summoned the water up through the small holes of the platform and turned them to ice shards that shot up, killing the telekhine that were in front of Percy and Nico.

Both jumped back in shock at seeing the _solid _water. Neither Percy nor I had never been able to change the state of matter of the water. Water was only _liquid_.

But I wasn't done yet. I summoned more ice up to create a barrier between the three of us.

Percy growled, "You idiot! You can't fight all of them by yourself." Despite the harsh tone, I could practically feel his desperation, his absolute fear of losing me.

Percy couldn't survive if I died.

But, neither could I if he died. I was the disposable twin. The one that didn't matter. Yes, I was the only one who could save Luke and keep him alive, but I knew that Percy would find a way to _save_ him.

Even if I died, I knew my brother would find a way to redeem him. And that was all that mattered. In the end, I'd rather _save_ Luke than...

But I didn't plan on dying.

I had a problem though: I had used up all the water underneath and around me, and those blasted things were surrounding me again.

What was I going to do? I couldn't hold out much longer physically…

I would have started to panic, but the ice was so embedded in me, that there was no panic. Only a clearness of mind that I hadn't felt in so long. My mind thought back to images of me, were they memories? They had me drawing power from _myself_.

But I had no power….all my power came from my father…

A voice seemed to whisper in my ear _and where did he get that power from? What came before? And before that?_

Didn't Percy draw into himself to clean those stables?

I reached deep down inside of me, to my core, where I had always felt the power that my father gifted, or cursed, me with. I felt his power, but there was something there as well. Something that felt so much more ancient and _freezing. _

_Me._

I grabbed it, focused, and had only one thought: kill them.

When I felt the entire forge shake, it was only then that it occurred to me I was inside of a volcano.

And I somehow drew on enough power to cause a fucking earthquake. (Later, I'd find out that the earthquake was Percy's way of _helping _me—so we caused one together.)

Well, this was going to be fun. A child of water, of ice, meeting fire.

Before that last thought was fully finished, I saw Nico and Percy appear in front of me. I felt Percy draw on the same power that I did, except he didn't cause an earthquake, he drew on the water around us, and before I saw what he did, I felt Nico grab me.

Just as we disappeared, I lost sight of my Twin. One who I has always had a piece of my soul.

Not even a second after Nico grabbed me, I felt the connection I had with Percy fade for a few moments. That's when the Darkness took me.


	6. Chapter 6

**Moon Says:** So, I uploaded an edited verison of the last chapter with a few added bits to it. I'm horrible, I know. I didn't even look at the thing (it was horrible). Here is the next chapter, I've got chapter 7 partly done. There are about 3 scenes that I have to do left. It will be updated before the middle of the week, don't doubt! In fact, I'll probably finish it today. If I have time to edit it, then I will post it today. IF not, then I will wait till tomorrow. Currently on a lunch break at work. Yes, I'm working during the summer, yay. Like I don't have enough to do.

**Twilight of the Gods**

**~Chapter 6~**

I was back on the island with Percy when I regained consciousness.

Or as much as you can when you're dreaming.

It had been almost close to two weeks since Nico dragged me out, well, carried me out of the forge that eventually exploded. I felt bad that so many people got displaced, but at least no one died...yet.

Who was I kidding? I didn't give a shit about people I didn't know. I was only worried about Percy making it out alive. Every few nights I'd dream about him and the woman who was taking care of him.

At first, there wasn't much to the dreams because he was in and out of consciousness recovering from the shit that he did.

Just like I had.

I think a week passed before I was able to get out of bed. Nico had been taking care of me.

Lucky for me, though, I didn't really realize it or have to think about him because I was sleeping mostly. I had used almost all my energy and power in that forge to save us, _almost kill us_, and that right there almost killed me.

When I woke from the first real dream that I could remember, I found myself in my cabin.

There had been fruit and some water nearby just in case I woke (while my nursemaid was gone, I guess), but I also noticed that the other beds weren't in use. That meant my nurse maid was sleeping with me, in the chair beside the bed, or came and went (meaning no sleep really for them).

It didn't take a genius to figure out who it was, but I still didn't know where he was sleeping.

I wasn't even awake for a few minutes before Nico was back at my side. I couldn't even look at him.

After checking my surroundings and looking for any danger, my first instinct when waking up is to find Percy.

But Percy wasn't there. I couldn't feel him, and the dreams were still in my mind.

Nico didn't say anything at first as I stared out the window onto the porch—honestly, I'd preferred the bed next to the window of the back porch that looked out at sea, but unconscious almost dead people can't be choosers.

It showed just how well Nico knew me with the first words out of his mouth, "Percy isn't dead, but he isn't in camp either."

Nico said nothing about my condition or what shit I did or even about the stuff we really needed to talk about. No, he went right for Percy.

Why did he have to be so perfect?

"I know," I said softly still not looking at him. "I can't feel him anywhere near me. That and I've been dreaming about him."

Nico took in a breath, steeled himself, and I knew we were going to have a conversation I didn't want to have.

"I'm sorry that I left him behind, but I won't apologize for saving you. Percy—"

I shook my head, cutting him off. "I don't care what Percy wanted. Either way, it doesn't matter now. I'm here, and Percy is lost on an island."

Nico growled as he slammed his hands on the bed beside me, making me snap my head toward him. "What else was I supposed to do? I couldn't get to you both. Percy's in trouble, I know that. And if something happens to him, that's on me, but—"

"What?" I blinked at him, quite confused. "How is it your fault that Percy's on some island? I told you both to leave, and what happened to him is on him. And me," I whispered the last bit as I looked back out the window.

I should have made my idiot twin leave, I _know_ Percy. Before I went kamikaze, I should have made sure he couldn't get to me. I should have known he'd find a way past that ice wall.

My thoughts were interrupted when a gentle hand cupped my chin and turned me to the right.

Nico's darker eyes bore into my lighter ones with something I needed to run from. "You don't blame me?"

There was something in his voice that told me the thought of me blaming him, of hating him, was something he couldn't handle.

Damn it, Nico. Why can't you be someone I can hate?

My eyes softened as I shook my head. "We're adults, maybe even children, fighting a war. We have to take responsibility for our actions. I tried to get you to leave, you didn't. You chose not to, and so did my brother. It was his choice to do something as equally stupid as I did. And right now, he's dealing with it."

"And how is that?" Nico asked with his eyes boring into mine, sparking more shit that I had to freeze.

I looked away from him. It was becoming too much, so I focused on Percy. "He's being presented with a choice that will probably destroy him. He's on Calypso's island right now. And if he stays..." I trailed off, not really needing to say exactly how it would destory my brother.

It was quite obvious. If he abandoned me, he'd never forgive himself. And he would spend the rest of eternity, or until I died, fading away. Until, in the end, he did just that.

Speaking of fading away, oh, how I'd wish I could do so just to get away from Nico.

I squeezed my left fist so tightly I started to draw blood from my nails.

As soon as I smelled it, I knew Nico did as well. But, once again, Fate was smiling on me, and my knight came riding up on a horse.

Or rather, my Knight was a horse that came right up on the porch and shoved his head through the window and in my face.

I gave him a grateful smile. "Blackjack, you beautiful beast, where have you been?"

~TotG~

The next dream of Percy I had was with him talking with the god of the forge.

"—on the other hand, neither can I. I'll take the win, either way. Your twin is safe, but," the old god sighed.

"What about my sister?" Percy demanded, all fatigue and weariness gone at the thought of something being wrong with me.

"I can't tell you what choice to make, but you will need to make one. Not now, perhaps at daybreak. Daybreak is a good time to make choices," Rose's godly parent said instead. "You upheld your side of the bargain by clearing the forge, and so I will do mine."

When Lord Hephaestus started explaining things to my brother, I too, realized exactly what Lady Hera had meant. The best guide would be a mortal with the sight. My sight wasn't as good or as clear as one of those special mortals, though it would do in a pinch.

It made me wonder if my sight was what was supposed to lead us down the path we took...maybe we weren't wasting time, after all.

~TotG~

My next dream started after a day where Clarissa helped me figure a few things out the night but the night before those idiots at camp decided to kill off my brother. Right him off, maybe was a better choice of words.

The entire camp was full of idiots. As soon as I could really get out of bed without falling over (that was fun with Nico catching and holding me up—sarcasm in my own head, I'm going insane), I tried to train, but few wanted to train with me (afraid of injuring me further).

So I did it by myself. Forget them.

Nico was near but kept his distance since...whatever it was that happened. When I showed him that I was not going just sit still, he decided to do damage control and train with me.

There was always something completely unsaid when we crossed swords. More I just shoved under the proverbial rug.

When he had to go do something and I still wanted to train, Clarissa daughter of Ares would step in.

At first we had said nothing, but after a half hour in with no clear winner, it clicked that neither of us were really there.

I sighed as I sheathed my blades, "What is wrong with us?" I muttered not really expecting an answer. We were in the middle of a fucking war, camp was about to be breached any minute now...

The female opposite me just snorted. "I know, right? Badass women on the brink of an attack, and our heads are elsewhere."

Oh, yeah, Clarissa knew exactly what I was going through. I racked my brain trying to figure out whom was her problem when I remembered something Percy had said in passing. "How's Chris doing?"

Her eyes darkened. "Not good. Promise me that you'll kill that bastard when you find him. That place is evil, and the man who created it has to be just as much."

Something in her words clicked subconsciously, and while I didn't know how exactly, I knew what she wanted would happen. I gave her my nod, then she looked hesitant for a second.

"Whatever is going on with you and the kid, I hope you know what you're doing. Because it looks like it's about to blow the fuck up in your face, our faces," Clarissa warned.

For the first time, I finally had someone who understood. I could see in her eyes that she saw more than most thought. Instead of telling me to face it, Clarissa trusted me. She trusted that I could handle this situation.

Otherwise, she'd tell me off. After all, her life, as well as the rest of the rest of the campers, was on the line if my Quest wasn't successful. More than that, she didn't interfere, only try and bring something into prospective for me.

I ran a hand through my hair. "Honestly? I don't know if I want to know what the fuck is going on. I'm _tired_," and the look in her eyes told me she knew exactly how I felt. "What I want is to go back to Jasper. The Major would know what to do. Instead, I have to handle this like I do everything."

This Daughter of Ares nodded as I pulled up and steeled myself. The Quest, this fucked up family, came first.

Just like Percy, I was given a choice. As of this moment, nothing else mattered. The Quest, the camp, the gods came first.

As they always fucking did.

After listening to the female tell my brother that he could give it all up and just stay there with her, I knew that despite my _saying_ I chose the gods, the Quest, and Camp Half-Blood, I knew what I was really choosing. Because underneath all that shit was _always_ Percy.

By choosing Percy, as fucked up as it was, I was always choosing _them_.

And Percy seemed to get it too.

"In the end, I could give it all up. Tell the gods to go fuck themselves, but I can't abandon her. We're caught in the middle of this shit storm, and I can't leave her there alone. Because in the end, it comes down to her. And if she's in the middle of it all, so am I."

Yeah. Because that was why it was so fucked up. We were here because of each other. Our curse: Percy and I were bound together, better or worse. We stayed in the middle of this war because the other was caught up in it. And, yet, we couldn't leave because of just that.

"You love her enough to destroy yourself?" Calypso asked softly, the hurt quite clear in her voice.

Percy looked sad—there was no way he wanted to hurt the girl. "We're bound by our souls, twins. No matter what happens, we're in this together, forever. All these years I've taken her for granted. Knowing she was always there by my side, no matter what trouble I got us involved in. Before now, it's always been about me, and now that she's finally struggling with something, something that's breaking her apart, I can't leave her. She needs me, and no matter what I have to do, I'm going to help her."

~TotG~

"—gone. I think he's twin should say something," Chiron said as he handed a shroud to me.

I glared at him. "And I told you, horse-shit for brains," a lot of campus gasped, a few laughed, and I just filled myself with more ice. "Percy isn't dead. Maybe you've gotten old, but have you forgotten just what a twin is? He's alive but lost right now. In fact, he's heading here right now. I just don't know how long it will take."

"It's been two weeks," the giant horse said in a voice that told me "I'll forgive your insult, your grieving."

Enough.

I gripped the shroud in my hands and let the ice flow into it. I was going to throw the damn thing at the jackass' head when it was fully frozen, and, hopefully, it breaks something. Or put something back in place. Chiron was being an idiot!

Two things happened then.

Nico was in front of me and grabbed my hands.

I had done a kickass job of avoiding him these past few days, but here he was.

Immediately, I calmed down, and the ice receded.

Just from his fucking touch. His eyes told me to calm down and stop being a bitch. I rolled my eyes at him when the second thing hit me.

The connection I had with Percy had been growing stronger, and now it was as it was when we were last in that damn forge.

My eyes widened as I whipped around and laid eyes on him. I gave him a smirk, "See, shit for brains, my brother is alive. Took you long enough, brother. You sail slower than grandma Jackson drives."

I wished I could say I barely noticed Nico removing his hands from mine and taking the shroud or that he backed away slightly from me but was still near enough that I felt him.

Bastard.

I should have run to Percy, because in the next second, Annabeth was going ape shit crazy on him.

Even though I was pissed at her for touching him like that and making a scene, it was amusing seeing my brother react so uncomfortably.

As Annabeth was going crazy, there was a hand that cupped my right arm—no doubt an attempt to keep me calm and not murder a daughter of Athena.

Bastard.


	7. Chapter 7

**Moon Says:** So, I didn't get this chapter uploaded as soon as I had wanted, I am sorry for that. To make up for the week or two lateness for it, I am giving you a 10 page chapter instead of shorter like the other ones. Here you go and tell me what you think. I think there is one more chapter before I start getting into Twilight, maybe two.

**Twilight of the Gods**

**~Chapter 7~**

Nico guided me toward the farmhouse at a slower pace than Chiron, who grabbed Annabeth and Percy and took them on his back.

By the time the slow ones got there, and I'd even admit, the silent walk with Nico was nice and comforting (I was giving in because of Percy being back but only momentary), Annabeth was already grilling my brother for details of why he took so long to get back.

"He was healing, you idiot. For a Daughter of Athena, you need to use your brain more," I scolded quietly as Nico and I took a seat on either side of Percy on the couch. A seat I knew Annabeth was about to take when she stopped glaring and commanding my brother.

Bitch snooze she lost.

Percy just rolled his eyes and told us a cliffnotes version, one that definitely didn't involve his revelation about me—something I'll just keep to myself.

After Percy finished his account, he and Chiron started talking about involving a mortal with the sight called Rachel, Annabeth started freaking out, and that's when I decided to leave.

I didn't get very far from the farmhouse when Nico joined me.

"What is it, Nico? Does Chiron want something else? It's too late today to head to New York, and Percy has to get in touch with the girl. So, what is it?" I didn't even hide how tired I was.

"Annabeth asked if she could switch places with me, but I told her that was up to you," was the quiet response of his voice.

The fact that he even let Annabeth believe it was an option made me stop and turn toward him.

I tried searching his face, but I couldn't figure out why he said that. Nico hadn't let me go alone, with Percy, into the Forge let alone the entire Labyrinth in the first place...why the hell was he even contemplating letting me back into the Labyrinth without him?

Nico had been so insistent that he come, so why was he going to back out now?

It would make everything easier on me if he wasn't there, even if Annabeth was the trade, so why wasn't I jumping at this?

Why the fuck did he even propose it?

My face clearly said what I couldn't ask because Nico spoke next. "Percy was right; you're getting distracted, and I know it's because of me. And if I'm around, you're going to continue to get distracted, and it'll probably end up killing us all. I don't know what I did—"

I cut him off with a sigh and a hand running through hair.

Strike what I said about being perfect. He was bringing this shit up, and I didn't want to face it. And by the damn look in his eyes, Nico knew he was doing this, bringing it up in this way, so I would be forced to confront whatever the hell this was that was messing with me.

Well, fuck him.

"You mean besides the fact that I want to hate you right now?" I muttered as I turned and headed toward my cabin, knowing he would follow me.

Nico caught up with me right before I hit the porch. He grabbed my right arm and spun me around, "What the hell does that mean?" his black eyes were like they were on fire.

Fire and ice.

Damn him.

"It means," I stressed with a hardened gaze, "That I don't have time to be dealing with this shit. You were the one that insisted on coming. You. You decided to come, so if you want to leave, go ahead. But it's your choice," I said as I yanked my arm back and went straight inside the cabin, slamming the door behind me.

Lucky for me, I closed all the windows before I left the damn place earlier.

_Damn it, Nico_, I thought as I slid down the door. I really didn't have time to be dealing with this. I didn't have the mind either.

_Too much, too much._

I bit back a sob, but something escaped.

_It always did._

First all this shit with Luke was tearing me apart. Then, I almost lose Percy to my stupidity (my mind tried to say Nico too but I shut that down). Now, Nico is pressing me for answers to shit I _can't_ think about.

Fuck, where was Jasper when I need him? I wanted Jasper to hold me so bad, to keep this hole inside of me from getting worse. I knew I was making it worse. The thing with Nico was making it bigger...

Luke. Luke. Luke.

_Too much, too much_.

I heard a whisper through the door before he left, something that started to tear me apart even more.

"_Why are you pushing me away? Let me help you."_

I only whimpered and sought out the ice. I would freeze.

It was the only way I was going to survive.

~TotG~

Nico walked away from Poseidon's Cabin with a heavy heart and a whimper that tore through his body, breaking him down.

Why wouldn't she let him help her?

Asking that question made Nico remember something that Bianca had once told him when he asked her if they were going to help a friend.

_You can't help someone, brother, if they don't know what they problem is. _

And that right there was the problem. Isa was avoiding it all, shoving it to the far reaches of her mind because she couldn't handle it.

Nico wanted to scream. She didn't confront the problem because it was tearing her apart, but by pushing it away it was ripping her to shreds.

And all this had to do with the gods and their fucking games.

_Damn it, Aphrodite! You think love is a game, something to play with, but what are you going to do when it does tear her apart and she dies because of it? Or she turns against all of you? In case you didn't know, Percy would do more than follow her to the Underworld and back. If she died, he would go crazy and probably follow her too. What will you do then? Where will be your champion of the Great Prophecy then?_

Nico, after getting lost in his thoughts, find himself out in the woods and punched a tree in frustration.

Fucking gods and their games.

Nico vowed, then and there, that he would do anything he could to get his Isabella through this while keeping her whole.

Whatever it took…even if he became the one spoken of in the prophecy and destroyed the gods.

_Anything_ because she was worth it.

~TotG~

Three Demi-Gods got into a car and made their way to New York… I felt that that was a start of a joke and wondered if it would be a funny one.

Meeting up with mom was awkward, she feed and watered us before we left for that meeting with Rachel which was interesting at the least.

I liked her to be honest, and if Percy had a crush on her, I'd totally be okay with them dating.

She even made it bearable to go back into the maze.

As we journeyed deeper, Percy asked questions about what she saw. Traps and the like. She had a good eye. Some of the stuff I didn't see, but, again, probably because my eyes didn't see as well as hers.

Of course, maybe it wasn't her or maybe it was Fate again, but we ended up somewhere _not_ the workshop.

We got captured by those vampire monsters Percy met with Rachel before the summer started. Someone's playing with us.

When are we not played with is the better question.

They tried to take all of our weapons. Percy got Riptide taken away, but they couldn't touch Nico's and mine. It burned them.

Fools. I wished I had time to get the children of the god of the Forge to put the ancient rune of belonging on Percy's blade. Though I was curious how Nico got it on his (of course, the answer was probably his father).

To keep the two of us in line, they threatened Rachel and Percy. I knew the two of us could take them, but I wasn't sure if our two companions would get hurt in the process.

When Nico nodded, I knew he had come to the same conclusion as I had. I gave my acceptance as well, and we continued on. I was actually curious of where they were leading us. A part of me went along peacefully hoping they would take us to Luke.

The whole thing about Fate guiding us really sunk home when we were lead to an Arena of sorts where a very tired and wary looking Luke was overlooking the dead center of said Arena (not that I noticed him right away) and a BAMF was standing in the center and beating the ever living shit out of someone before granted his opponent the mercy of death.

I needed to learn how to say 'we are royally fucked' in another language.

You know lots of goths, punks, emos (that crowd) love the whole skull decorations? I kind of do, myself, but I wasn't so sure about that anymore when I actually took in the arena that we were drug too. But that wasn't the décor that had my attention. What was a banner of my father doing in this arena of death?

I wasn't stupid; I knew that the gods had bad sides to them just as they did good, but this was confusing. The only thing I could think of was that the guy who was in charge of this place had ties to my father.

Then one of those idiots that had us captive taunted my brother with the fact of blood relation to the decorator.

So I had a half-brother here that liked killing people and/or watching people kill people? Good to know.

Of course what had most of my focus was the person who was above the banner.

"Luke," I whispered; everything inside of me was only became more conflicted at the sight of him, and the relief I thought I would feel wasn't there. Luke did not look good at all. Something was wrong, something really wrong. What was the cost of him surviving that fall?

I couldn't tell you for sure if he heard me, but he just switched his eyes from my twin to me and looked sort of scared. I knew that look wasn't for him but for me. His eyes told me that I shouldn't have been there at all.

I could practically hear him from across the room, "_Why can't you stay away, Little Mermaid? Why can't you stay away and be safe?"_

I only shook my head and gave him a resigned look. _"Why won't you come with me?"_

Before this, we both knew I would never stop trying to save him, and he would always try and push me away. But now? We both knew that some line had been crossed, a point of no return, and soon that decision I was to make that Lady Hera postponed would be upon us and it wouldn't only be mine.

Our eyes broke contact when the battle in the arena was over and that BAMF I had laid eyes on before had moved toward Luke.

When Antaeus, my half-brother, demanded entertainment from Luke, my old mentor seemed hesitant as his eyes swept back to me for a second before back to the giant. His next words told me why he looked to me and looked a bit regretful.

"I give you Percy Jackson, Son of Poseidon."

Antaeus then looked straight at us, but I think Luke forgot something. Percy and I were mostly identical twins. One look at us side by side told the giant all he needed to know.

"A daughter of Poseidon, huh? I'm not sure I've seen a sister before," Antaeus mused before looking me up and down and spotting my blades. "A warrior as well. It's decided! If my sister provides me a good fight, I will grant you passage, Luke, Son of Hermes."

Luke stood up and immediately protested. "I'm giving you a son of Poseidon not a daughter!"

It was sweet that Luke was trying to protect me; it was clear that he feared for my life. Always trying to save me. But I knew this time he couldn't. Either way this went, I would help Luke. Either by my death or by killing this bastard.

"The girl or no deal," Antaeus threatened.

It was clear Luke was torn but only for a second. I knew that steeled look in his eyes: he was going to refuse.

But I had come here to help Luke, for good or ill. I hoped that either winning or losing helped him see that I was here, that I could save him. If I died here, I knew Luke would be break and, I was mostly positive that he would leave Kronos (unless the bastard promised to bring me back to life, then we would have a Luke that was more than one hundred percent committed to the Titan).

So, either way, this could go sideways.

But I came here to help Luke, and now my twin was in damage and so was Nico and Rachel.

They _all_ needed _me_.

"I will fight," I told the death-lover in the arena before Luke could deny himself the deal.

Percy protested. "No, Isa. I'll fight Antaeus," then he tried to shove me back toward Nico who, from the corner of my eye I saw, was barely holding it together.

That gave me a brilliant idea, "Why fight a daughter of Poseidon when you have Twins of Poseidon?"

Antaeus was old, so I knew that unlike some of my fellow modern children of the gods he would know what twins meant. If he took on Percy and I together then it would be an easier battle then it would be if it was just me.

Antaeus looked quite intrigued at the thought of taking on Twins. Especially if we were of the same father.

"Agreed, little sister. Before you die, I will show you exactly why I am our father's favorite son! In his name, I have killed many a foe, and built the Earthshaker a temple of their skulls. Worry not, I will put the two of yours together and in a special place."

Then he went up to the balcony next to Luke, sat down, and gestured toward a gate where a monster came out.

"Prove to me that the two-that-are-one are ready to fight me. What is your weapon?"

Percy and I shared a look, "Our blades," we said together.

Riptide appeared in his hand just as I pulled mine out of the sheaths.

Not even a second later, our opponent fully came through the gate while Percy launched himself at her. As he distracted her, I slipped in behind her and cut off her head.

Our brother did not like that one bit. "I give the order to kill! I want entertainment, so fight more slowly and do not make the kill unless I say so OR ELSE!"

I closed my eyes so I didn't roll them.

"A monster is an easy kill for a demi-god, how about another demi-god?"

When the guy came out, a young warrior not that much older than us, the demi-god did a double take as he saw both of us.

"Two on one? How am I supposed to prove myself if the odds are against me?" after he spoke, he did a double take, and realized just what he had said. Two on one would be a great chance to prove yourself if you defeated both of them.

I was feeling a bit sympatric so I told him, "You are fighting twins, cousin; therefore, because we are the two-that-are-one, you are fighting one on one, really."

He just looked at me, "That doesn't make sense! There are two of you, how can you be one person? In the end, I'm fighting two people."

Percy, though, thought to talk to him in a different way. My twin asked his name and other things. We only got the demi-god's name when the spectators started freaking out, and Ethan charged us.

Percy and I were always fast. We weren't the, as my video game memory serves me, tanks that wore the heavy armor and did heavy damage. No, Percy and I were more like rogues. Well, he was when he didn't have on armor and a shield. Still, neither of us really had on traditional armor (mine was special but looked like regular clothes), so we were quite lighter unlike our opponent.

Besides the fact that he was wearing himself out trying to impress Luke. The heavy ass armor did not help at all.

I took Percy's lead at not trying to kill the guy. We blocked and dodged, but there was no offense strikes from us. Antaeus did not like that at all.

When our brother commanded that we stand and fight, Percy and I, in complete unison, tripped our opponent, he on the left and I on the right, and when the armor weighed him down, we pressed our blades to his neck, a foot each to hold him down.

We both turned toward the monster next to Luke who didn't look happy about the battle he saw, but gave us a thumbs down.

"Kill me, get it over with," Ethan groaned. That armor must have weighed a lot.

I pulled my left blade back and stepped away from the fallen demi-god. Percy did the same, but he was more vocal.

My eyes went to Luke who just sighed. His eyes telling me he was tired and amused at the same time. I could hear him practically call me an 'Idiot'.

With little remorse, nothing that would keep me up at night because it was for Percy, Luke, and the others, I would kill Ethan. But Percy was a part of this as well, and I couldn't hurt him like that. Besides monsters who had attacked us, Percy had never killed anyone, and because of his heart, it would not go over too well.

Me? I was prepared for it. Jasper had made damn sure I was desensitized to the thought of ending a life before I left. So were Emmett and Rose. They knew what was going to happen. Even though my heart was as kind and gentle as Percy's heart, unlike him, I had learned to turn it off.

That was my purpose in life after all. I was the dark Twin. I was the Left Hand, the one who did things in the darkness. I did what Percy couldn't do.

And it wouldn't have been the first time.

Back on Luke's ship when we were hunting the Golden Fleece, a few demi-gods fell to my hand though Percy thought we got away without killing anyone.

My hands were stained red so Percy's hands didn't have to be.

But I knew if I killed Ethan here and now, in front of him, Percy would blame himself.

I couldn't bear to see his Light be tainted.

Instead, like always, I stood back and let him handle things the way he always does: he directs everything at himself so others can be saved.

I caught his command to Ethan to run when he got the chance right before the idiot twin of mine challenged our homicidal brother to death.

Luke was frozen to his seat as he too took in the idiotic challenge. His worried blue eyes found mine.

By the look in his eyes, Luke seemed to think Percy and I were dead. There was a struggle inside of Luke right now, I could see it. When my brother gave his terms to Antaeus and the bastard accepted, Luke's eyes hardened with resolve.

I could tell, deal or no deal, he wouldn't let me die. Without a second to loose, as Antaeus jumped into the arena, Ethan took off, Luke mouthed the word "Gaia" to me.

My eyes widened. The Titan of the Earth was this fucker's mother?

"_Seriously, father? You screwed my great-grandmother, your grandmother, to beget this beast? Were you drunk? If so, I need to know what cousin Dionysus gave you so I never go near the stuff."_

Well, Shit.

Now we had to face a frigging half-Titan half-god with the powers of the sea and earth.

As Antaeus charged us, I threw myself out of the way to the right, and my eyes narrowed when the bastard didn't come after me. It seemed once focused on my twin, he had forgotten about me.

That is what you get when Percy taunts you. Why did they all fall for it?

Suppose I shouldn't be looking a gift horse in the mouth; after all, it gave me time to watch him and learn his weakness.

Then Percy cut and stabbed the bastard, only to lose his sword as it was tossed behind our brother, right toward me.

Each wound was healed by the dirt around us in the arena.

Well, Shit.

"Now you see why I never lose, demi-god!" the bastard gloated, "Now come here and let me crush you."

I nudge my brother's sword with my foot, watching it as it disappeared before looking around the arena to see if there was any way to get him away from the earth.

The opposite of earth was air.

My eyes went to the ceiling and, well, maybe it was a time to like skulls again. There were skulls hanging from the chains which were connected to the ceiling.

But what could I do with the chains? I could always get cords tangled up but never something with me in it…that was Percy's gift.

With two of us, we could wrap the bastard in the chains, keep him suspended…

That would have to do.

When I came back to the battle, Percy was cornered, but he caught my eye. I made a movement toward the chains, and he nodded.

We were much shorter than Antaeus, so it was going to be hard to get up on those chains, so we'd have to use him.

I always liked climbing.

Percy distracted him front, faking a dive under his legs, like he did before, and used our brother as a springboard. I did so from behind. Course it helped that Percy had gotten Antaeus next to a wall so I used both him and the wall to catch myself a few chains. We climbed a little bit to get out of his grasp, but Percy started taunting him more.

"Can't you get up here? Or are you too fat and slow?"

If there was one thing that Percy was good at, it was getting his enemies in a rage that had them making mistakes.

While Antaeus struggled to get up on the chains to get to us, Percy had been sawing off chains so he could get our brother strung up by his loincloth.

"Really, Percy?" I breathed as I got other chains and started getting our enemy caught up in them, "If that hook rips through, you are paying for my therapy bills."

It was a good thing that I had mostly got our brother tangled up because Percy stopped as he fully realized what he had done.

"Yeah, you and me both," he said, and before Luke could get those words out of his mouth to protest what we did, Percy stabbed Antaeus in the stomach.

Since he wasn't on the ground, the dirt/sand couldn't heal him, and he dissolved.

Luke growled, "Percy, you idiot! I should—" he cut himself off as he looked back toward me. With a frustrated huff, Luke raised his voice so everyone in the place could hear him. "Spare the girl and bring her to me," he said pointing to me, "But you can kill the rest."

Maybe I was still numb, but the thought that Luke was really willing to have Percy and Nico killed didn't affect me. Instead, I focused on the arena full of monsters that were about to attack us.

My focus was on Nico and Rachel. She dropped the bottle of water she had been holding, and I called upon my powers and used it to kill her guard. Without missing a beat, Nico pulled out his sword and killed his guard.

Percy pulled out something that hummed with ice, I could feel it even five feet from it.

As he blew into it, Luke laughed, "That was your big plan to save everyone?"

The whistle shattered, and something was coming toward us. That giant ass dog that loved licking and punching on me was here, and she killed the monsters that were in our way. Rachel pointed to the exit we needed to take while the lot of us make sure our way was cleared. Ethan was by our side as we exited the arena. I made sure not to look back at Luke; otherwise, I wouldn't leave. We didn't stop running until we got to a huge room, Ethan went his own way, and we rested, assured by Rachel that we were close to the heart of the Labyrinth.

It took a while for me to settle, and when I did, it wasn't Luke's order to kill the others that had me in shambles. It was the combination of him wanting to take me with him this time and the fact that I left him there, in dire need of help.

My mind went back to the condition of his body that I found him in when we first entered the arena…what price did he pay to survive that fall?

Why did I have a feeling it meant that saving him was going to be next to impossible?


	8. Chapter 8

**Moon Says:** I know I'm a horrible person. I got in a depression ditch between some personal, home stuff and my graduate studies. There was a death in the family in November that caused all those personal, home stuff. I am taking a Psychoanalytic Film Theory class now that is so interesting. Just turned in an essay today (early this morning before 7am), it was actually the first time that I've really stayed up instead of sleeping to do an assignment due the next day. Got like 2 hours sleep before having to get up to edit it (which was probably a poor job). The paper probably sucks too. But oh well. 10 complete pages in one day, not bad. Unlike fanfic where I can dish out like 20+ in one day... Yeah, I still have a Eco-Loki paper to do. Plus Thesis, this class, and the M.A. exam. I am so freaking tired. But I just kept getting inspired for this, so here it is. I plan on writing more tomorrow. This chapter was originially supposed to end when she goes back to Jasper, after 4th book is complete, but it didn't. Apparently, I'm a few chapters short of my outline.

I**MPORTANT NOTE ABOUT CHAPTER**: I was actually channeling my exhausted tired-life-ness in the chapter. I was going to have her keep running until the end of the book when she literally couldn't (from Nico until she actually does), but I think Bella needed to come to terms with some shit so that later it goes a bit smoother. It fits better with why Nico won't run after the battle. Bella needs space to REALLY think her life and these important choices through, but no one is giving her time or choices really.

**Pages/Words: **8/3,071

**Posted: **25 Feb 2017

**Edited**:

**Twilight of the Gods**

**~Chapter 8~**

Why was it that nothing could ever go my way?

When I started this journey, when we discovered that we were demi-gods, when I met Luke at camp...

I never once thought it would end like this. I never thought I would be face to face with Luke, on the opposite side let alone in a fucking war...

I never thought that I would be broken...

I never thought that _they_ would push me so far...

But I should have guessed. I should have known.

Because this isn't the first time I've been betrayed, hurt. Been the one left holding the shit bag...

When we got to the center of the maze...what I learned there...it was only the first step. The true beginning of the end.

I should have known...

In the end...chaos comes for us all.

I'm a fool to have forgotten that.

~TOTG~

After running from Luke and the pit, I had my second demi-god dream.

It was actually just the two of us. He was in a room, no bigger than a small ten by seven, with nothing but a chair in it. Even sitting in that arena, I had never seen him so beaten down. Luke was just in the chair, almost as if he was barely there.

What had happened to him?

"I've been waiting on you," his soft voice echoed around the tiny room.

My eyes widened as they locked with his. How could he talk with him in the dream? Percy had said only Kronos could talk with him...Luke had never seen or heard him before.

"Little Mermaid," he gave me a small smile, but it looked pained. "My...master is impressed by you. When I told him what Aphrodite did to us, he decided to take pity on us."

My eyes closed. So this was really happening. At least it wasn't in real life with Luke actually next to me. I could resist in a dream.

Maybe.

Before he could say anything that a part of me would regret, I spoke for the first time. "How did you survive the fall?" my voice was but a whisper. A part of me scared to even voice the question...because I really did not want to know the answer.

Luke hesitated enough for me to open my eyes to look at him again. "I don't think you're ready for that," he only paused a second after he spoke, but I could see him shake. "Kronos saved me, but there was a price to pay. He says," Luke struggled here, but I knew something else had won out. His eyes were tired; he had given up.

"I want to save you so bad, Little Mermaid. He says...that something is going to happen, soon, that will_ break_ you. Kronos says that we can save each other...you just have to..."

Luke couldn't say it. I wonder if Kronos even told him what price I would have to pay. What Luke would have to pay.

I steeled myself. "What is the price that I have to pay for this...gift of pity?" I force myself to ask in a neutral voice, and I'm rewarded with a ghostly chuckle from the Time Titan himself.

His voice whispers in my ear. "That comes after. Are you willing to do anything, pay any price, to save him? The one that slut goddess bound to you? Or will you choose to go with the...other bonds that are forming around your heart and soul?"

Luke looks confused at those words, but I knew what he was talking about.

Jasper.

"Make not your choice now, child. I am as merciful as my daughter. This was only to present the offer to you. To make sure you knew your options. Will you choose Luke? Or choose the ones that will abandon you, ignore you when you call, no, beg for help?"

I caught Luke's eyes as my dream and he faded. Those haunted orbs would stay with me the rest of my life.

Especially because it was now clear that Luke would stay with Kronos to save me. This caused me, for the first time in my life, to hate myself.

If I wasn't here, if I hadn't been Percy's twin...maybe if I had been Isabella Swan...Luke wouldn't have damned himself for me.

That right there made me want to cast the world off and isolate myself.

Maybe if I was alone in with the ice no one would be hurt...

~TOTG~

When I came to, I heard Rachel and Percy talking with each other quietly, bonding. Yeah, I really wouldn't mind if those two got together. Rachel could hold her own, and Percy already felt comfortable enough with her to bring her into our world, so maybe there was hope that if I wasn't here, that Percy wouldn't be alone.

When Rachel became closed off due to questions about her family, the two of them turned in for the night.

I sat up against my pillar and scanned the area. It was a giant room with a circle of pillars at the center of the room. I was against one, Percy and Rachel were near a few to my left and Nico was immediately on my right—leaning up against the pillar next to mine.

And he was awake as well...and watching me.

My dream tried to come back to me, certain words of Kronos, but I shoved them down. I needed to focus on the mission at hand, and Nico was distracting.

So why didn't I have him trade with Annabeth?

Simple. Nico would follow my orders, he would fall in step with me, and that daughter of Athena would only argue and try to be top bitch.

But, Nico was right back at camp. I did need to figure out what the fuck was going on with him. As I pressed my back against the pillar, I realized why, or at least one reason why, that I refused to analyze what was going on with Nico.

I was scared. My world was falling apart, and I was keep hold of certain things. The deeper I go into this world, the harder I cling to the foundations, the constants.

Luke and Percy had always been there. I could trust them (the latter completely, the former...only with certain things now that he was the enemy...or was he?). But Nico was a new addition. Honestly, I had only known the boy...but he wasn't a boy anymore was he?

I meet Nico during the Winter Solstice, less than half a year ago. I had known Luke for fall longer. He should be my focus, yeah?

Ever since we found out that Luke was the Lightning Thief, I have tried my damnest to try and save him...or was I?

Could I have saved him long before now if I just voiced it? If I hadn't been afraid of what it would mean if I put myself out there? If I gave into the Goddess of Love's manipulation?

Whether I could save him in the past or not, doesn't matter now. What matters is that I can save him now. IF I give myself over to Kronos I can save the both of us.

But what am I saving either of us from? Kronos insinuated that the path I was on would break me. Maybe because I stayed on the Olympians side is the very reason I would break.

What would break me, though? Would the manipulations never stop? Was there something worse coming? My mind went to Lady Hera...was my breaking tied to choosing her and not Luke?

Would leaving Luke to his fate break me?

If so, what were these other bonds he talked about? I knew instantly he spoke of Jasper, but Kronos said _bonds_, as in plural...

My eyes widened then as I stared at nothing in particular.

Maybe the reason why I refused to think about Nico was because he was the other.

Something inside me cracked again, and while I allowed myself such a small thought, I didn't let anything else pass through. Even if other things tried to make themselves known.

_This is why,_ I thought bitterly, _I refused to think about Nico. _

Because now it's Jasper, Nico, and Percy (and everyone else) versus Luke.

Was one life worth so many others?

But who was to say that the war would be won with me anyway? Percy would choose whatever side I would because we were connected by our souls. He would follow me even if he believed that I made the wrong choice...because we didn't abandon each other.

If I chose Luke, and Kronos, then Percy would join me and I'd have both of them.

Jasper...I wouldn't think he would care. When we had talked about the war before, he didn't care to choose a side. As long as I was okay, I knew instinctively that he would not argue my choice.

But what life would I have with Luke and Jasper if Nico...

"Penny for your thoughts?" that dark voice from my right whispered softly as to not wake the others.

I sighed. I could just brush him off, redirect, lie, or I could tell him the truth.

I never ran from anything before, so why was I so desperate to do so now?

After seeing Luke's physical conditions and some of my own revelations, I just gave up running. Gave up being tired.

So I confessed, of sorts, to Nico.

"I'm scared out of my mind," was my first whisper. "I had two constants in my life once I got dragged into this world. Percy and Luke, and now...others are joining, and I'm not really sure what to do. Their complicating everything. It's just easier to throw all that shit in the back of my mind and focus on balancing those two." I confessed.

I wouldn't look at Nico even if I did give in and gave him something.

He was quiet for a moment before he said, "You're doing a half-assed job of it."

I snapped my eyes to him. I knew there was some disbelief in my eyes. He did not just say that to me.

Nico looked like he was about to chuckle before he thought better of it. "What I meant is that you seem to be focusing more on Luke and its hurting Percy. Percy is trying to help, but you keep shutting him out...all of us, actually."

I thumped my head softly against the pillar behind me. "I know," I answered, as I thought about his words. I hated that he was right. "Percy always seems to be able to function without me. It's me that needs him. I need someone to focus on, to take care of, to protect, and when Luke...Luke needed me more. And trying to worry about anything else that popped up was making me confused and uncertain and I couldn't have that. I have to be firm. I have to be strong. I always have to be."

Because that was the way it always was. Someone always needed me. Someone always needed me to take care of them in some way. Focus on them. Revolve around them.

I don't know how to function when someone does it to me, so maybe that was why Nico was freaking me out so much. He was trying to be for me what I am for other people...

I still don't know how to process that.

"Even you need support," Nico said eventually. "But there are some things we can't do for you; we can't make decisions for you. We can only be there to back you up, whatever it is."

I turned to Nico slowly, almost stopped breathing. Did he just say...

The fear returned, and that was when it dawned on me another reason I was scared of Nico.

I didn't need to chase after him. I was scared of him because he was _here_ and there was no running from him. With Luke, a part of me knew something would keep us apart, but with Nico—there was _nothing_.

Nico...I couldn't run from him.

And that was what I was scared of.

There was no running, and if something went wrong, I would be stuck. With Luke, deep down I knew nothing would come from it, that was why I chased him. Why I let myself get lost in limbo because I was afraid of what comes after.

What comes after the running.

Nico pushed himself away from me, his eyes calm and so fucking soft. It was the look someone gave a frightened animal.

Because that was what I was right now.

That was what it all boiled down to. I was afraid I would be left. Or someone would die on. That was why I devoted my entire being to Percy, to chasing after Luke because...

Because Percy would never leave me and I knew I could never have Luke. You can't fear what won't happen.

Jasper...Jasper's love and commitment to me was eternal. He had been alive this long, survived both worlds...darkest of them both and _survived_. That and I knew everything would be okay was because of Rose and Em. It was through their relationship that gave me the absolute faith in Jasper.

Percy and Jasper.

Nico and Luke were the ones fucking everything up. But that was the point, wasn't it? What was the point of a love you didn't have to fight for? When is there every value in anything that you that just happens? When were you ever sure of something you didn't sacrifice for?

It was so damn easy with Jasper—if you didn't count how we, technically, couldn't be together because of commitments on both our ends? It had taken months, though, before I got to the point where I accepted what we were of each other. I think it was that night in the hotel.

Nothing was certain, though, was it? We could die here in the Labyrinth. If we did, I would never have to make that choice, would I?

"You know," I said after a while lost in my thoughts, "it's so much easier just worrying about others, always following, never leading. Being in the shadow..." I trailed off, knowing that I was about to save something about fuck love.

Nico only sighed, "Is it? Sometimes you lose in the shadows. There is a loneliness there, watching others, knowing..."

I knew what he was saying without him even finishing. Watching me was just as painful as being at the forefront.

None of us can win for loose, can we?

I nodded but didn't say anything. A part of me just wanted to take Percy and run off, leaving all this shit to others.

But it wasn't in Percy's personality, in his nature, to just leave others. He was a hero down to his very soul.

It wouldn't surprise me if this was his third life, his third attempt to die a hero and enter that sacred place upon the final death.

Would that be how this ended? We all die?

"I'm beginning to truly believe that no one is going to win this. Everyone is going to lose," then my mind drifted to those who just watched. "Maybe not _them_," I said, and I was too tired to even make that single word bitter.

"I know," Nico agreed just as softly, just as tired. "But I think what really matters here is choice. If it all ends the same way, does it matter what path we choose, as long as it's _ours_?"

Those black eyes were boring holes into me, I could feel them without even seeing them. But I did. I was done running. I met them head on, surprising him a little.

"But why me? Why am I the one who gets to choose? Why am I the one everyone is going to follow?"

Saying it allowed triggered something inside of me. I couldn't hide anymore. I wanted to; I wanted to run from this shit. I didn't wait to be responsible for Nico or Percy's fate. Or even Luke's, but it seemed we were all tied together.

By me.

That was why it was all my choice.

Nico bit his lip before he let out a half sigh. "I'm sorry. We shouldn't be putting this on you, but you need to understand. _You_ are our linchpin. _You_ bring us together and hold us together. That is why Kronos wants you. You are one of our most powerful, yet you hide it. That is why they fucked with you because they didn't know that their fate rested with you," those black as night eyes blazed as if they were black flames.

I knew Nico was right.

The ice was telling me there was a reason I played such a major role, and I was afraid of that reason even more so than of my feelings.

"You know; you aren't the only one afraid. Do you think any of know what the fuck we're doing?" Nico added, and we both chuckled.

That was the point though. It was easier to follow than to lead. I had always stayed in the shadows, always following, always _not_ choosing causing my choices to be ripped from me.

Maybe everything was down to choice.

Choice.

This reminded me of my favorite video game character. Fenris was stuck between a rock and a hard place, but choice is what saved him. After having all his choices taken from him, he gained freedom and happiness in a fucked up world where he could because he took his future, he took his choices. The former slave joined Hawke, knowing that he could end up dead; the elf could have left anytime he wanted in those nine, ten years stuck in Kirkwall, but he didn't. He chose Hawke, he chose his life.

Maybe it was time I make my own choices. Maybe then I won't feel so out of control.

"The thing with choices is making them," I snorted, "Now how do you do that?" I asked no one in particular.

Choices.

While I felt a bit freer about coming to terms with a lot of shit, like that Nico was there for me if I wanted him, but could I let myself have him if he wasn't my mate? What if he was?

Fuck my life.


	9. Chapter 9

**Moon Says: **Here it is the next day! Freak, I was hoping not to go to bed a 5am again. Oh well. Anyway here you go! I still have one more chapter left before TBOTL arc is finished. The final battle. I tweaked a few scenes, but here we go. I probably should have waited until the next chapter, but hey, we will see where this goes. I am hinting at some overarching secret plot, but I don't think anyone will get it. They only way you could is if you read another one of my fanfics, which is a HPxPJ crossover, but I haven't published it yet. It also only has one chapter so...just a few bits there, but total spoilers. So warning for those that read this then read that once it is out or vise verse. Anyway, enjoy. This may be my last update till summer, but who knows?

**Pages/words**: 10/ 4, 4473

**Edited:**

**Posted**: 26 Feb 2017

**Twilight of the Gods**

**~Chapter 9~**

As soon as I finished my last thought, Percy jolted up, freaking the fuck out about Tyson and Grover. But of course I couldn't let him dwell on that, or myself, because at that moment the whole room started to shake as if there was an earthquake.

Really? Now? A part of me wished I could stop it, after all, my father was called the Earthshaker for a reason...but, apparently, I didn't get that power.

Instead, we grabbed our stuff, woke Rachel quickly, and followed her swift as we could.

We all were silent as we dodged whatever was following, but soon, we got to a metal door with the Greek triangle on it. Rachel turned to me, "Here it is."

I nodded as a thank you, not really wanting to speak before I went and pressed the triangle. The doors shuttered as they opened.

When it opened, we came inside and I took a quick look, not really noticing anything. Except that it was quite modern, recently used (if the screen savers and half-eaten muffin was anything to go by), and bright as hell.

For being in the heart of a maze, supposedly underground, it was pretty full of light.

And laptops.

It was like art class mixed with a computer engineer workshop thing.

Rachel went straight toward the easels first before shaking her head and going to the wings. She made a comment our mystery genius was in fact such.

Me? I went to the windows, trying to get a sense of where we were. As I looked out the windows, I didn't recognize the place, but I saw people down before. A park of sorts. How did they not see us up here? Was the Labyrinth a building that has always been there? Like a skyscraper? Or was Mist covering it?

"Colorado Springs," a male voice answered as if I had spoken aloud (did I?), "It is the Garden of the Gods."

I threw my body away from the voice, making sure that I faced him (which wasn't really that hard since he was _above us_ on a staircase—seriously, I am getting bad in my old age, I didn't even see the staircase), and my swords were out and in position.

But I shouldn't have bothered since it was just Quintus. The owner of that annoying Hellhound, Mrs. O'Leary.

I narrowed my eyes at him as Percy demanded to know where Daedalus was. Who only responded with as he came down the stairs toward us, "Trust me, you don't want to meet him."

I had always thought something was weird about him, but it wasn't until Nico spoke next, "That body isn't real. How did you get your soul into something that _isn't_ a human body?"

Percy started to deny it, "You don't look like the man in my dreams."

I wanted to snort or at least chuckle because of how that sounded, but all I did was share a look with Rachel who was in the same boat as me. We did listen to Daedalus argue and try and prove himself. It wasn't until he showed the bird brand on his neck and Percy recognize it, that my Twin believed.

Before Percy could launch into more history, I stopped him by raising a hand. There was something I needed to know. Why did we have to go through all this shit if Daedalus had been there all along?

"If you are Daedalus, why were you at camp?" I asked, and Percy immediately followed with another thought I had.

"Yeah, why did we have to go searching for you, if you were at camp the entire time?" Percy demanded.

The old man in front of me only sighed. "Luke told me one thing, and I needed to discover the truth myself.

I growled. "So you had talked with Luke before I even came to camp. You fucking knew he wanted to destory the camp, and let you—" I cut myself and took a deep breath before I turned my swords backed into pens.

Right now he wasn't a threat. He wasn't going to attack us, but that didn't mean that he hadn't sided with Luke.

"I've talked with him several times, actually. He is quite persuasive," was the reply before Percy tried to plead with him to save the camp.

I saw Nico out of the corner of my eye, just standing behind me to my right. Percy was in front of me, closer to Daedalus.

Said man only sighed, "I have no control over the Labyrinth. Because of my want of privacy, the Labyrinth now has a mind of its own. It was the price to pay to keep others away from me. Gods, monsters, and my greatest enemy."

"Minos," Percy named, and that clicked with something inside of me.

Ghost King...the prophecy. Was Minos the Ghost King?

My thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of paws on the floor. That beast had come into the room from our right and was actually in between Nico and Percy. She went after Percy first. With a lick to the face, she retreated and went after me (who was behind Percy). I grabbed Nico and pulled him to my front using him as a human shield. He only chuckled, but I was rewarded, though, for holding him closely because the Hellhound whined, and turned around to go after the creator of the Labyrinth.

When the dog was getting attention from the other man, I stepped back from Nico. I was kind of glad he only chuckled...I really didn't want to deal with words or a look from him considering I just hugged him. More than that really, I pressed my body tightly against his. Sought him for protection—even if it was against a dog.

Maybe I was being rewarded with silence?

"There is my old friend!" the man said as he petted the giant dog. "My constant companion all these lonely years."

I looked thoughtful for a second. "You gave Percy the whistle, so she could save us."

"I did so because I was guilty," was his response.

I knew instantly what he meant. "You already gave the string to Luke, didn't you?"

The Hellhound owner nodded, "I tried to tell him that the eyes of a mortal would do better, but he was so hung up on a magical item. Your friend's eyes are more accurate, actually."

Percy's eyes widened. "Luke already had the string when we saw him in the arena. All that stood in his way was Antaeus, and we killed him, sister."

I clenched my first. "I'm really glad I didn't let Annabeth come. She would be so disappointed in you, _Quintus_. Let me guess. Kronos promised that he would save you. Keep you from your enemies so that you can live the rest of eternality with the weight of your crimes."

At first, the son of Athena flinched when I mentioned his half-sister, but then he looked confused. "Crimes?"

I gave him a bitter smile, wanting to cause him pain. After all, how many demi-gods were going to die, suffer, because of him? We might just lose this war. That was probably why Kronos was trying to make that bargain with me. He truly believes he already won. "Oh yes. Honestly, I'm not sure how you live yourself. That boy that you murdered, caused the death of, was supposed to be your student, someone you protected," I tried to twist the knife and the look on his face told me I did so well. "Not sure how you live with that regret, considering it is the reason you have this cursed life of yours. Tell me, you've been alive for two thousand years, whats a few more? Can you live those next two thousand years knowing that the blood on your hand with your family? Others, who you took the time not too long ago, to teach? How many more students are you going to kill just so you can cheat death?"

Nico took a step forward. "He might not be living much longer if I have anything to say about it," with those words I felt his power start to rise, but I placed a hand on his arm.

Those black eyes of his softened as they looked at with, questioning. I shook my head at him before turning back to Daedalus. I didn't take my hand off of him, and I think it helped keep him calm.

The bastard, shaking as he was with that haunted look in his eyes, shook his head at me. "Your cause is doomed, my dear. I saw it as I was working at camp. Kronos' army will have ripped through it, sooner or later, and he will win this war. I am doing what I must, cousin. The offer was too sweet to refuse."

Nico clenched his hand, tight, and I knew it was only time before he drew blood. I slipped my hand down to his and gently opened it. For some reason, one I never figured out, I slipped my hand in his. As I did so, I was glad that Nico was with us. That he had refused the deal with the Ghost...

Minos. Ghost King.

Live or die by the Ghost King, the prophecy said. Minos was with Luke. Percy said.

Daedalus' words made me want to laugh then. "Too sweet to refuse?" I said as something came to my mind. "You realize that Kronos promised you protection, but Luke is working with your enemy. Luke didn't trust you, and rightfully so. He's working with Minos."

His eyes widened, fool was supposed to be smart. I wonder if this happened to all children of Athena. They got too big for their breeches, and they lose their heart after awhile...

"You know," I said softly as the thought caused me so grief. "I wonder if this is a curse of the children of Athena. Do you lose your heart to your mind after a while? Does survive win out?" I looked at the machine in front of me. "Jasper is a son of Athena, and even with all the shit he went through, I very much doubt your little human life had anything on him, and yet, he hasn't forgotten his heart. He still _feels_. He wouldn't sacrifice hundreds of innocent children for himself."

In the moments following my mention of Jasper, Nico gripped my hand tightly and I could feel tension returned to him, tension I had taken out of him. My defense of Jasper also caused my brother to look at me in a new light.

As I thought about it, I knew that despite my defense of Jasper, I knew that if he was Daedalus and it was me or camp, Jasper would choose me. No question, no hesitation.

It made me wonder just how hard my demipire could be if the situation pressed him. I had seen him take down a vampire without blinking an eye and, if he could sleep, I knew he wouldn't lose any over it.

I knew if a human was a threat to me, Jasper would kill them. I had seen it done.

That night in Port Angelus when Edward was trying to play hero, I had seen and felt Jasper as Edward drove away.

He had killed every one of those human bastards that had thought it was a good idea to attempt to rape me.

Jasper would kill for me, die for me, because he _loved _me. Because he _felt_ for me.

Was there a difference between what Daedalus was doing and what Jasper would do for me?

My thoughts stopped, though, when Rachel called out, "Someone's coming!"

My words came true because not even a second later, that vampire bitch from Percy's school came in with some monsters behind her. One that were cannibals. I couldn't remember what they were called, but I knew they wanted to eat us. Probably alive.

They all entered through the door that was nearer to Daedalus but was still close to the rest of us. It was about twenty-feet away from Nico and I, fifteen from Percy and the traitor.

What caught my true attention was the ghost that was with them. I looked to Daedalus and chuckled darkly, "What did I tell you, old man?"

Daedalus tried to argue with the bitch about agreements, but really, what could you expect? A part of me was upset with Luke...what about his honor? But then, considering what Daedalus had done, I had no pity for the bastard.

And Luke probably didn't either.

My thoughts about Jasper murdering others for me came back. I wonder if Luke was okay with the massacre that would follow because he was doing it to protect me.

My attention came back to Kellie when she spoke about Nico. "Minos gave Luke a better offer. He would lead us to that demi-god right there," when she looked straight at Nico, I gripped his hand just as tight as he had mine before and pushed him behind me a bit.

"Where is Luke?" I asked to distract her. "Was he too busy to come after me?"

With those words, Nico grabbed me and pulled me against him, tight. I knew he'd prefer if I was behind him, but playing musical body shuffle wasn't something we should be doing at this time, and he knew it.

The girl snarled at me, "He has an assault to plan, but he's coming. I don't see what the big deal about you is."

The way she said it made me want to laugh. Was she jealous of me? I could see her trying to get in Luke's pants, he was hot, and him denying her.

Kellie started to bring out some monster body parts and Rachel, fuck how could I forget about her, called out to Percy (briefly, I saw that she was behind all of us), "Percy, the wings?"

Percy nodded as he pulled out Riptide. "Get them ready, I'll buy you time."

Then he launched himself at the monsters with Daedalus to back him up, but before I could help, Minos started trying to do some freaking dead spirit shit. Nico moved to intercept him.

"Fool! I will take the inventor's life and come back from the dead. You will not stop me; I am the Ghost King!"

Nico laughed, "Fool am I? You've forgotten who _I am_. I am the Son of Hades. I _am_—" his words were cut off because Luke came into the room with monsters of his own behind him.

It was as if everyone stopped. He looked at me, smiled as much as he could, and we both knew this was it.

"Little Mermaid," he called me as he started to come toward me causing Nico to grab me and shove me behind him, shielding me from Luke.

Luke narrowed his eyes at Nico before he ignored my human shield.

"It's time. I need you by my side for the attack," he said before he held out his hand. "Do you accept Kronos' offer?" he said it. The fucker said it, and he wasted no time, either.

I guess we were really done playing games of run and chase.

Percy started making weird noises. "What offer?"

When I looked at Percy, I saw Daedalus look at me, and I knew what he was thinking. I had chewed him out for taking an offer, and here I was with one.

Kellie took that moment to attack, and it seemed that swung the other battles into motion again.

Minos started doing something weird, and I knew he was calling on the Spirits. Nico was torn. He didn't want to leave me with Luke, because I knew he didn't trust me to reject him. Especially after his next words.

"We can save each other, Little Mermaid," Luke pressed, and I could see in his eyes that this was hurting him. This Son of Hermes hated that he was finally asking me. He didn't want me in this war to begin with, and now...now, I was at the center, and he was doing whatever it took to save me.

I wouldn't be surprised if he had known the Great Prophecy in the first place and that was why he stole the bolt and joined Kronos.

I shook as I stepped out from behind Nico and began to slowly walk around him and past him. Nico didn't stop me, but I could _feel_ him, and I didn't want to.

Instead, I wanted to tell him to take care of Minos. The bastard was getting his Spirits onto our plane and about to go after the traitor. But I didn't say anything. Because if worst came to worst, and he did kill Daedalus, I'd kill Minos myself.

But that never happened before Luke had my sole attention.

When there was seven feet between us, I stopped, locking my eyes with his.

His haunted eyes. His almost broken eyes.

Eyes that were not all together blue as I stared into them. There was something else in there...there was another color.

My eyes widened as I took it in. It was gold.

Why was there gold in his eyes?

Was the gold a price he had to pay for surviving that fall from the cliff?

I started to panic then. I didn't know exactly what it was that made the gold, but I knew it was bad.

I was just about to take a step back, and one foot of mine did, when they went almost completely gold. It was almost as if they were half and half.

And the voice and aura that came out of Luke's body had me shaking worse than I had in my entire life.

"I did say I wasn't going to make you decide then, but the time has come for you to make your decision, my child. If you side wit it was me, I will protect you and Luke. I have already kept Luke from death. He would be dead without me, and I know you do not want that, my dear. I saved Luke," his honeyed voice said, "Join me and you can have Luke...otherwise, he is mine. Save him from the price he has to pay..."

It was only when that I knew what had happened. Luke survived that fall, but the cost...those gold eyes...that voice.

My heart knew. My mind knew. My soul knew. Even the Ice knew what Luke had agreed to.

_Not again, not again. Why does he always take him away! _I screamed deep in my soul. The ice there was going crazy.

My heart was breaking...not it was shattered.

My whole world fell apart as the knowledge that Kronos had taken Luke's body.

I fell to my knees; there was no fight left in me.

I started to cry, and I didn't even realize it. I heard Percy scream my name and it only made me scream.

Luke had traded his body to live again.

And I damn well knew why.

Me.

Why, why did I hurt those around me?

I was the cause of Luke's fall. I knew this without a doubt. I had caused him to steal the bolt, to turn from the gods, to join the Lord of Time's side. I was why he had given his body over...so he could live. Because living was the only way he could protect me. Protect me from the ones who would destory him. The only way to destory them was with Kronos' help.

I was barely breathing as I looked up from my knees at Luke's body. It was when I screamed that the gold left his blue eyes. Luke looked...

He probably looked like me.

Minos took advantage of the situation as he wasn't able to kill Daedalus. I learned later that Percy had killed Kellie and was now helping him taken down the giants (because what else could he do? He couldn't help me and standing there would get him killed).

Nico wasn't really taking care of Minos because he couldn't look away from me.

But when Minos went after me, I knew it because Luke suddenly looked afraid and wasn't looking at me anymore.

Nico, though, was quick enough to act. "I won't let you take her!" he almost growled as he shoved his sword into the ground. It created a rift in the floor that sucked them all in.

Daedalus then screamed for us to leave. Percy and Nico both grabbed me and practically dragged me to where Rachel was.

I felt some kind of water rise up, were their pipes in these walls? Percy must have command it to block us from their sight.

I was so numb that I don't remember much about getting the wings on. In fact, I was on auto-piolet. All I could think about was Luke and how he was totally fucked.

Why? Why was I the one who had to make all these decisions? Why was it me that had to save everyone?

I knew I would damn myself if I joined Kronos, but Luke...he needed me!

Honestly, it was times like these that I wish I had never entered this world.

When my feet touched solid ground, I felt arms grab me. That was when I started to come back to myself. Some was taking something off my back and another was holding me up.

I blinked as my eyes locked with sea-green eyes that were so worried. Just another reason to hate myself.

Just looking into them, I saw pity, and I knew he saw me break down back in the workshop. I was barely holding myself together, and I knew if we kept looking at each other, my legs were going to give out and I was going to start crying again.

So I closed them which caused him to pull me into a hug. My legs did give out but I didn't cry. I just shook, almost dry sobbing.

After a few minutes, at least I think so, I calmed down.

I opened my eyes. I was in Percy's lap, and Nico was standing next to us only a few feet away, his eyes blank.

Nico...

My mind seemed to forget about him opening up the ground, but I did remember that he sent Minos back to the Underworld.

Ghost King.

It was always Nico.

Why did it always come back to Nico?

I took a deep breath and reminded myself that I was the leader of this mission. The mission that was going to hell. We didn't get Daedalus' help, and almost half of us were missing...

Tyson and Grover...Percy's dream.

We still needed to get to them.

Never leave a man behind. There was too much abandoning going on here, and I wasn't going to add to it. We would get those two, head to camp, and do our best to minimize the damage from Luke.

Luke.

For the first time, I couldn't think about him. I shoved _him_ into the back of my mind.

"We need to get Grover and Tyson; they're still in the maze," I said softly. Percy nodded as he helped me try and stand. I was a little shaky, but I stood on my own two legs.

I could tell as I looked at the other three that they were worried about me, but I didn't want to talk about what happened. I couldn't talk about what happened.

"So, how do we get back in the maze?" Percy asked.

"Daedalus said he was tied to the maze...what if he's dead?" Rachel hesitantly asked.

Nico shook his head. "I'd know if he was dead, and he isn't."

Rachel was about to ask how he knew that, but I held a hand up. "We need to figure out where the hell we are, and find another entrance into the Labyrinth."

Rachel didn't really like that idea, but she nodded.

The next hour it took us to find an entrance and the mysterious influence Rachel held did not hold my interest. Really, I was paying enough attention that I directed everyone, but really, I was in my mind, and I was afraid of it.

I didn't want to think about Luke, or Nico, or anyone. Camp or the war.

So, somehow, to protect myself, the ice took over. It cleared my brain.

When we did find an entrance, it didn't take us long to find something. Percy found Grover's cap, and Nico started arguing with him about camp.

Percy, though, snapped back. "Isa already said we were getting our friends back. We're not leaving them here by themselves! They could be injured!"

~TOTG~

It wasn't long later when we found the great god Pan. He tried explaining things to Grover, but Grover didn't want to let him go.

I was sad and numb already, and knowing that this god was going to fade and die...it just made everything worse.

Pan told my brother, "When the time comes, do not fear past mistakes. Do not doubt that things can never be repaired. When the time comes, Percy Jackson, you will make your amends and find your balance."

Fear, I knew it well. But the other parts, what mistakes had my brother made? Did he blame himself for Luke? Or was there something deeper going on? A past we couldn't remember?

He told Nico, "follow your heart and stay strong. Soon, choice will be yours, and she will need you for what follows. The past does not always decide the future for us."

When it came to me, I should have been afraid of his words, but the ice was keeping me numb all over. "My dear, you have been through so much, that I ache for you. Some of us always have. Remember, the past does not always define you, but it holds some truth. You will have to come to terms with the past before you can have your future. Just remember, despite the world seeming as if it has shattered, does not mean everything has burned. You are not alone, remember that when the time comes, and do not let the past define you."

As I took in the fading god, I wondered just what he meant. This wasn't the first time a god had alluded to a past that I didn't know about. But the ice knew. The ice knew this past, and it hurt so bad that it had frozen over and I couldn't remember. I had a feeling now that when am broken in the future, I would burn the world down. Where was the ice when I burned the world?


	10. Chapter 10

**Moon Says: **So**,** I updated like I promised. Three days in a row (because even though it is 6:30 am on Monday, I still consider it Sunday). This is the final chapter in the BotL arc, and Isabella is now with Jasper as I promised. Enjoy**! **I will try and update soon, probably try a chapter once a week, but I can't promise anything.

WARNING: This fic is rated M for a reason. If you are not of age, mature enough to handle it (the half-assed lemons because I can't write them for shit), then please don't read. I got a few stories taken off already because some meanie reported me. I do this for fun, stress-relief. Please don't take away my fanfiction.

**Pages/Words: **22 / 10,023 (I would have split it off into two chapters, but I thought you just might want it all!

**Posted: **27 Feb 2017

**Edited:**

**Twilight of the Gods**

**~Chapter 10~**

When we got back to camp, it looked like defense preparations were in full swing. Every cabin was working on something, and it didn't take long to find out what was going on.

Every cabin have been fully diving into the plans I brought when I first got to camp.

Good. Every advantage we got, was something that could keep us alive.

First thing we did was locate Chiron when we got back to camp. And who was with the teaching centaur? Annabeth. As we came up, she looked like she was in her element. Apparently, after we left and the flashdrive was passed around, everyone started to get into the swing of getting the camp ready for a battle, and what did Annabeth do?

The girl took charge is what she did.

Annabeth didn't look angry or jealous when we came back, especially after she took one look at me. It seemed while we were gone, she had found herself a place at camp doing what she always wanted to do: lead.

Chiron immediately brought us up to speed after we filled him in on the last bit of our journey. After giving us a grim look, as if he expected what we told him happened.

"All of you, thank you for trying. All we can do now is prepare for the battle ahead. I want the four of you stationed at the entrance as the scouts and first wave, the rest of us will continue set up until we get the signal the attack as begun. When we can, we will send you who we can," Chiron commanded. Tyson, Percy, Nico, and I nodded before he turned back to Annabeth and gave out her assignment.

As we walked away, we heard him say, "You, my dear, are to be the first line of defense for camp. We will station you and a group between the shield the trees between camp and the entrance…"

As we came up to the entrance, two miles later, it wasn't even two minutes later that monsters started pouring out. We got overwhelmed quickly, but lucky for us, I had made an impression on Daedalus causing him to come help.

Extra lucky for us, he brought the giant one hundred handed hero of Tyson's along for the ride.

~TOTG~

I should have known something was up. Things never go smoothly for anyone, especially us.

Thank the gods that Rose, Em, and Jasper had been bored all these years. The defenses...everything they sent on that laptop saved lives. We still had some deaths, but because of those plans, we didn't lose the hundreds we would have otherwise.

But those plans accounted for our smarts. Warriors who put their brain first.

I wasn't smart.

I was a woman, human in the end.

My weakness, blast you Aphrodite, was enough to almost ruin everything. It wouldn't really matter who the fucking prophecy meant if I died.

Like Nico said, I was the one that was the linchpin. They'd probably say to fuck with them all.

Covered in whatever the blood of my enemies were, I paused just for a brief second in the middle of battle.

I had gotten lost in the killing. I tried to locate my people. Where the fuck was I in the first place?

We were the ones closer to the Labyrinth entrance.

Percy was closer to camp battling Kempe with Tyson, Daedalus, and Briares. Kempe was on top of this big rock thing (I knew she could see camp from there)—it was to the left of the entrance, but still a mile or two from camp.

The other twins were to my right (how did they get so close to the center of the battle?) coming ever closer to me, battling something that had a shield-like thing in the front (good for ramming things, it even had some sort of spear thing on the bottom of the shield—it could have been a spear stuck in it though). I could hear the others who were on the other side of the trees, another line of defense to camp. Something must have gotten through and pushed them back...probably that damn ramming monster.

Nico was behind me with his army of the dead. He had been pushed even further from the camp

I was in between them all. Later, I would regret looking at the entrance, but I did. It was built into a hill, and at the entrance was something I had never seen before.

With a sudden intent to kill it without getting to close to really find out what it was, I liked the thirty or so feet in between the two of us. Remembering what Jasper said was the special ability of my swords, I quickly slammed the bottom of the hilts together, picturing a bow (lucky for me one of the death things that had come from camp had an arrow that I stuck in one of my boots). I fitted the arrow and took aim. It was then, as I took aim, that I looked into its eyes, whatever it was, and it changed as our eyes locked, and I doubted my eyes for a moment that it had been anything but what I saw the next second.

It was Luke.

Luke had come himself to destory camp.

I honestly didn't think he had it in him. I also would have thought Kronos would have thought it beneath him to destory the half-bloods.

But here he was in front of my eyes. And I couldn't look away from his eyes. Even though I was a thirty feet away from me, our eyes connected and I couldn't break it this intense connection.

I felt the familiar pull, though it wasn't as strong as it usually was, and any desire I had to kill that creature left me. I dropped my weapon as a different pull began tug at me, one that made my legs start moving.

Luke looked like his old self, as he did when we first met, and that should have been my first clue that something was horribly wrong. But I didn't want to, not when he gave me that smile of his, his eyes laughing, as I saw his hand reach out toward me, like he did when he knocked me down during practice, ready to pick me back up to try again.

I could hear yelling, my name coming out of someone's mouth, but I couldn't look away.

This was it. I was going to take his hand, and I would join him because if being with Kronos made him as he was before, made him look as he was before the shit hit the fan. If this was true, if this was the old Luke, then yes, I would give in.

Luke was there for me when no one else was. He helped me understand who I was inside, and I owed a debt that couldn't be repaid.

He had been my light, my guiding light, as if I was lost in the maze and he was my string leading me out of the madness.

I owed him. Luke had saved me when I entered this world and needed someone. He was there, and now, I would be that for him. He needed a light, and I would be that.

I raised my hand toward his, and my feet carried me further. "Luke," I called as my soul started to accept him, accept Kronos' offer, and I had to have gone maybe ten feet before I felt something. It was the connection I had with Percy.

That was when I felt time slow, and the pull I felt lessened enough for me to sense what was going on around me.

To my right, I felt and saw Mr. D's kids land at my feet, the ground shook as I physically _felt _their impact, and I saw the monster they had been taking on coming at us from the corner of my eyes.

Percy had called the water from the stream from behind where Nico was, but it couldn't do anything because his control over it was broken when he was slammed against a tree by Kempe. All because he was being distracted by me.

I felt his pain; something was broken, but I didn't know what.

Nico had summoned his black stone and blocked my sight from Luke, and the spell was completely broken.

It was enough to snap me completely out of it, but it only gave me seconds before the twins and I were dead. The others couldn't do anything. I heard Nico and Percy scream for me, but I was frozen, and so were Castor and Pollux at my feet.

In those seconds, I felt Percy's complete pain. His fear at losing me coupled with the pain in his arm and leg. He couldn't move and couldn't save me. Nico felt helpless as well, and I could _feel_ his agony. The thought of losing me would have crippled me especially when combined with Percy's.

Curiously, I felt no fear or anything at the thought of my death. Instead, the ice responded to their emotions and took completely over.

I felt my power, this ice, consume my soul for a brief moment. I closed my eyes and let it. If letting it consume me meant Percy and Nico wouldn't feel that way anymore, I would gladly let it take me.

As my eyes closed, the ice reach out, my power reached out, and connected with whatever what it could find. Water in the earth, the trees, in the stream that had almost made its way to us when Percy attempted to save me. And when it did, when it touched whatever it could get its hands out, it lashed out.

As it lashed out, my own mind began to take over, a need to protect. The intense desire to shield Percy and Nico over took my body, reacting like my power did. On instinct, I threw myself down in between the monster coming from the right over the half sitting half standing demi-gods at my knees.

I couldn't protect my twin, who may just lose me after all, but I could protect these two.

Besides, it was in my nature, it was who I was to throw myself in front of others. To take their pain. To support them. This had always been my life, and when Percy and I entered this world, it just went into overdrive.

It got worse to the point where I started shoving myself deeper and deeper until I was barely there, barely functioning—which, really, is the reason we were in the mess in the first place. I recognized, in the side of my mind as time had slowed, that I had let Percy overtake me, forgetting myself. Then, I focused on Luke until...until I had pushed Nico and Percy away.

And what was my reward? Percy had gotten injured, and both he and Nico was going to lose me...

While these thoughts raced through my mind, I knew something pieced me as I used my body to shield the other two, but I couldn't feel it.

Silence took over the field, as if all the fighting had stopped to watch me.

I slowly stood up from my shielding position, and the wind hit me. My hair had come loose and the part I could see was white.

But that wasn't what had my attention: it was the ice that was everywhere.

Not even turning, I could see that Kempe had ice shards sticking out of her, but she wasn't dead. The one handed one took advantage and finished her off as eyes were on me and my ice. The dacaenae that had been coming toward Percy as he laid against the tree, hurt, for I could see it now as he was in my line of sight, was dead. Twisting my head to look behind me, I could see the monster going for me was dead as there was a giant shard going through its head.

Up close, I could see that it was a modified hellhound. It made me wonder briefly who the fuck thought of turning it into something like one of those head-butting dinosaurs?

Thinking of the hellhound had my thoughts turning to Nico. That is when I turned around completely, finding him twenty foot away, but he wasn't looking at my head. He was looking at my left side.

I looked down to see blood had soaked the left side of my body. Beneath my breast on the left side was a tear in my armor, as if something had sliced through the side.

_The spear of the hellhound must have sliced through my side before my ice killed it, making it back up_, I thought quickly as I checked my side for an injury, running my feelings over the wound, but I couldn't feel it. In fact, I couldn't feel any of the cuts that had appeared on my body.

The armor that Rose had given to me had done its job at least, until this battle. The dracaenae that I had battle earlier, the dozen of them, must have been cutting me—yet I never felt anything, little stings, but I had thought they were my muscles being worked overtime.

The adrenaline, maybe?

But now, I had a massive laceration, the skin slashed, and I felt _nothing. _The blood dripped down as my fingers ran along the torn skin. As I did this, the ice was slowly receding from me, but the numbness was still there.

Nico approached me slowly as I stood there, and when he got to me, the twins had stood up as well, fussing over me. My eyes locked with Nico's, and I could see my reflection in them.

Even my eyes were numb, but I could see the color in them. They were ice-blue.

I felt shock at that. My eyes were sea-green. They had _always_ been that color. So why were they a different color?

Before I could think more on it, my body collapsed. Nico's arms immediately went around me, catching me and holding my body close to his.

Nico felt cold but safe, causing my eyes to drift close as I guess the blood loss was getting to me.

~TOTG~

Hera and Aphrodite were getting extremely worried over the situation.

If only they had known in the beginning how important she would be. The girl had always been the one in the shadow, so they didn't think she really mattered. It was the Percy boy that did.

How wrong they were.

Aphrodite would admit that maybe she made a mistake with the girl, but she thought she was helping her. And Luke.

She didn't think the boy would turn from them like he did, and when that happened, she thought the girl would bring him back.

Then there was the whole thing with the Cold One…Aphrodite thought she was trying to make up with that one—though she would never admit that she wasn't really behind that one, not consciously anyway.

Jasper and Isabella being mates was something that Fate had more to do with than she did. But she would take credit for it, especially if the boy decided to fight for them again because of the girl.

But of course that was a problem right there.

That monster with the power of illusion…both Hera and Aphrodite knew that the demi-god had almost, technically, chosen to follow Luke. If she had reached the creature, assuming it didn't attack her, she would have accepted Kronos' offer.

And that was something they couldn't let happen.

Hera had thought she had taken care of the problem with her little message and her interfering with Janus, but it seemed that they needed to take more drastic measures.

If the girl chose Luke, the reign of the Gods would end.

If the girl chose Nico, then the reign of the Gods would continue.

Those two things they were certain of.

So instead of letting Isabella make her own choices, they took the matter into their own hands. The two Goddess joined together and decided that they wouldn't make the same mistake twice.

They had given the girl some room with their pull and gave her time and choice, but now Hera and Aphrodite were desperate. There was no time left, and they weren't ready to risk their future anymore on this mortal. The Daughter of Poseidon had shown them she wasn't willing to make the sacrifice (which is what demi-gods were, they were sacrifices for their parents), they would make it for her.

Besides, she should thank them for what they were doing for her later. Such doing was in the shadow of the others. Hera and Aphrodite weren't willing to risk the others knowing about their plans; after all, this girl had all of them liking her.

Which was just another reason why they did this. It took someone special for all the Gods to take an interest in.

So instead of learning from their past mistakes with this girl, they decided that they knew best and set forth the future that Kronos had warned Isabella about.

~TOTG~

When I came to, the numbness had receded, but I felt no pain from my wounds. Flexing, I noticed that nothing stung, nothing pulled, so that meant they had been healed.

As I sat up in the bed, I took a quick look around. I was in my cabin, and the only one in here was Nico. Nico who looked worse than I suppose I should have felt.

Percy was nowhere in sight, and the windows were closed, blinds up, with door was locked as well.

I finally took notice of my clothing. Someone must have changed me out of my armor, a quick glance told me that it was on Percy's bed, still cut and stained with blood, because all I had on, currently, was one of my long shirts that I wore to bed. And my underwear of course.

I looked back to Nico questioning, and he stayed quiet, his face blank, for a few moments before he spoke.

"Percy didn't want to leave you, but Chiron and the camp needed him for various, after battle things. I wasn't really paying attention other than to promise that I wouldn't leave you. Chiron and Percy both gave the order that you weren't to be disturb as they didn't know when you would wake up,' he hesitated for a moment, voice neutral, and still nothing on his face before he continued, "They don't know what happened out there. Never has a child of Poseidon been able to work with ice before. In fact, Chiron said that no demi-god ever has had that element. He's afraid especially with you going between emotionless and overwhelmed a lot lately."

I let out a breath, "So he thinks I'm going to hurt someone."

"After what you did to Annabeth before? Yeah, he is. She's able to fight now, from what I heard, but not as she used too. He's also afraid of the damage that you did in the battle—though the ice melted after you collapsed. You lost a lot of blood," Again, there was no emotion in his voice or his face as he spoke.

I studied him as he talked, and it only occurred to me when he finished speaking that the reason was because he needed the control.

I remember the agony running through him during the battle, but why did he need the control now?

Was there something else going on?

Was he finally tired of me? Was he finally tired of me being an idiot, of always choosing someone over him? Was he…

Was he finally going to leave me?

After Percy returned and his promise fulfilled, would he leave me? Was he wanting Percy to hurry with his tasks?

There was a deep pain in me as those thoughts ran through my head. I didn't want him to leave. I had grown used to his presence; I had grown used to his shadow beside me...the safety and, sometimes, at ease feeling he instilled in me—the one that I tried to ignore this whole time.

But what kind of person was I if I wanted him around only to choose Luke? I remember finally deciding to choose Luke, that was what caused all the fuse in the battle…because I had finally given up.

If it hadn't been for that hellhound and Percy's pain…Nico's pain caused by the hellhound coming for me, then I would have taken Luke's hand…

Luke…if Luke had been on that battlefield, he wouldn't have let that hellhound attack me. Instead, it came for me…could he not control his army?

Kronos wanted me, so he wouldn't have let anything come between him and gaining me to his side, but the hellhound ended up breaking…

Nico…Nico could control hellhounds, so why didn't stop it, either?

Was he so consumed with me, so distracted with me, that he didn't stop it? No, he went after Luke first.

Luke was the bigger threat, but Kronos had Luke's body, Nico's stone shouldn't have stopped him…

Shouldn't have stopped the pull…eye sight doesn't stop the pull to Luke, I could still feel him if he was close…

So if sight stopped it…that was when I remember the other figure, the one I couldn't' really make out…

That is when it occurred to me that it was an illusion.

Nico took out my sight of the monster causing me to gain control over myself. Did that mean he trusted me enough, trusted my skills enough, that I could save myself? Or did he not care anyone? Did he just want the distraction gone, like I had wanted in the beginning?

There were too many questions, and that last one had me wanting to cry.

Based on the feeling that came with that last question, I knew something had changed since the Labyrinth. The thought of Nico not wanting me anymore, of not caring if I lived (other explanations be damned), made me want to rip myself apart. I suddenly had the urge to either beg his forgiveness to keep him with me or just slowly fade and die.

As these feelings started to overwhelm me, I felt a something touch my hand. I looked down and saw it was his, cold and reassuring.

I looked up and saw his eyes on me, filled with worry and something I hadn't wanted to figure out…but now, whatever it was, it caused relief.

'Every time you go quiet, you start thinking, and you withdraw into yourself, making everything worse. Stop thinking," Nico whispered, as if he was afraid of his voice.

The absolute control he had was still there even though he was showing some emotions…

Was he afraid of what would happen if he let go?

Maybe I should stop thinking. Part of me wanted to listen to him, obey him.

Give in to him.

"Nico," I whispered, his name coming out of my mouth before I even realized I was speaking. His body went ridged, his control slipping, I saw something in his eyes that reminded me of Jasper, of how Jasper looked in the truck.

My breathing started picking up as our eyes locked together, not moving away from each other. I started to get scared, the old fear returning causing the need to run to start overwhelming these new emotions that were rising in me, this new pull.

"Don't," Nico finally said as he got up and sat on my bed next to me, his hand gripping my wrist. "Don't run from me. I'm tried…" he trailed off, stopping.

Tears started filling my eyes, but they didn't fall as my earlier thoughts returned. Nico wanted to leave me; he was tired of chasing me.

He was tired of me running.

Nico gripped my wrist harder as I tried to pull away. "Stop," he bit out, trying not to growl or be harsh, "Stop running from me. I can't; I can't keep watching you run away from me because every time you do, I almost lose you. I can't lose you," he whispered as he leaned closer to me, and before I could react, he kissed me.

It was short, but it completely robbed me of thought. It reminded me of the first time Jasper kissed me. Jasper had been afraid too as he tried to reassure me of my worth, that I would run. Form him, from his feelings, from _mine_.

Once his lips left mine, I noticed his eyes were closed as he leaned his forehead against mine. His body shaking as he tried to control it, tried to get it under control. I could practically _feel_ his struggle trying to get his body back under his control.

"I can't keep watching you almost die. Why can't you understand, you silly girl, that I can't live without you," my breathing stopped. "Why can't you choose me?" his voice, though a whisper, seemed to break as he spoke that last bit.

Nico pulled back just enough for use to lock eyes again. Those black as night eyes were searching mine for something as mine was for his. I didn't know what I was looking for, I honestly don't know what his eyes were telling me.

I just knew I felt this pull; this pull was getting stronger and stronger since I woke up. I couldn't control it no more. The ice couldn't stop it.

As it began to overtake me, just like the ice did before, I fought it for a second before I realized I couldn't anymore.

_Why fight? _it whispered. _Give in, give in and _choose_ him. Stop fighting, nothing else matter but_ him.

Nico seemed be struggling too. Was he hearing the same pull?

In a last second, the ice came back, and for a second, I could fight. His grip had lessened enough for me to rip out of it, and I tried to run.

Nico, though, didn't have my ice, and I heard him growl before he made sure that I couldn't leave. I hadn't even moved an inch away from him, trying to get away, before he had me pinned to the bed, my arms over my head, his holding my securely, pressed down to the bed.

I had no choice but to look in his eyes as he held me down, and that was when I knew that there was truly no more running.

This was it.

This was the end.

Looking into his black eyes, that looked even darker than some parts of the underworld, I lost the will to fight. The ice left, and the pull had totally control over me. There was no more fighting, no more running.

For either of us.

As I lay underneath him and the fight completely left me, he _knew._ That was when I knew the pull had him too.

One word left his mouth before his lips descended on mine, taking them just as Jasper did when I mentioned I was leaving him in the truck.

I heard him whisper "Mine," before he took complete and utter control of me.

No more was Nico following me, letting me take the lead, letting me make the decision (though, a part of me that was still aware and could think beyond the pull, enjoyed the loss of control). Now, he was taking control, being the dominate one.

Nico was taking the lead, he was making the decisions, and I was following.

I let myself go; I let him have me. I let the feelings take me, the pull, I gave in to Nico.

I _chose_ him.

I was tired of running; I was tired of hurting him; this man, and fuck me was he a man, who had done nothing but love me.

I was tired of chasing after nothing and running from everything.

In these moments, when the two of us gave into the pull, when he tore the single shirt I had covering me, and his clothes disappeared from his body, I wasn't feeling the fear of what came after the running.

There was no fear of the future, no fear of him leaving if he didn't want me anymore, no fear for losing him. There seemed to be an absolute in this pull, in the connection between us. Almost like the one I had with Jasper.

The pull, this bond between us, told me that it was something that couldn't be broken. I didn't fear it breaking; I didn't fear that the war, that the gods, would take it from me.

Losing control, giving it up, felt freeing. I was reminded of how I felt with Jasper, how being dominated, how being submissive made me feel so free.

No longer was I the one in charge, the one making the decisions. No longer was I the one with the weight of the world on her shoulders. No longer did I seem to be the linchpin. I was just Isabella with Nico.

There was just the two of us. No control. No fear holding us back.

I embraced everything I felt. I wanted to feel it all.

Because this was me, this was me making a choice, this was giving up the fear, and this was me putting Isabella first.

This was me taking what Isabella wanted but had been too afraid to take it, too afraid of the uncertainty of the future.

I embraced the pain I felt when Nico slammed his cock into me; no, I _wanted_ it. I wanted everything he gave me. Every emotion he teased and brought out of me, I craved it.

For once, I didn't think. I welcomed the blankness that being together with Nico caused, that every time he pounded into me enforced, reinforced.

I lost count of how many times he made me cum. I didn't pay any attention to anything but the feel of me squeezing his cock, trying to keep him inside of me with every thrust. What every touch invoked...

I whimpered, causing him to chuckle darkly every time he pulled out of me to move us in a different position because we didn't just fuck once in one positon. The first time we had sex was him holding me down, my legs wrapped around his waist, trying to keep him inside of me, pressing him closer.

We didn't last long the first time. As we panted, still connected with his face buried in my breasts, we came down a little, but it didn't take long before the pull came back. For the pull to bring us back to the frenzy we had felt at the beginning of this.

I moaned as I felt stretch me as he hardened inside me. As his cock started to come back to life, he pulled out of me, causing me to whimper and reach for him, but unlucky for me, my legs had dropped from his waist and rested on the bed, so I couldn't pull him to me.

My eyes locked with Nico's for a second before he smirked at me before he flipped me over, pushing me onto my knees. I had no warning before he plunged himself inside of me, before setting a brutal pace that the pull brought out of us.

I craved it, wanted it, begged for it. I couldn't stop, and I didn't want to.

The same part of me that was tired of running, tired of being afraid, relished in this.

For hours, Nico staked his claim on me, refusing to let me go, reminding me that I was his.

It was only when we came together the last time, that he whispered in my ear, begging me, as sleep finally overtook us, to never run from him again.

~TOTG~

When woke, I was curled into a body. My eyes opened to see Nico's straight black hair had a slight wavy curl to it as it went to each side of his face. It was only now, as I lay on his chest, bare as it was, that I really looked at him.

This Son of Hades seemed so peaceful as he slept. His hair would have touched his shoulders if he hadn't been sleeping and most of his hair was around the upper part of his head. By the position of his right arm, which was angled straight toward the other side of the bed, facing Percy's bed, I knew when he had fallen asleep, he had spooned me from behind because there was no doubt that I had used it as a pillow of sorts.

I had done it with Percy too when we couldn't be too far away from each other or just needed the other and slept in the same bed.

As I stared at Nico, what we had done had come back to my mind. The pull was still there, but it was satisfied with him. I had no fear he was going to leave me, and, with early morning around us, I still had no fear of the future.

But there was something tugging at me…the ice was starting to come back since the pull couldn't really consume me as it did last night…

The pull had driven us to complete our bond. A bond I had been running from.

A bond that Lady Hera had informed me of before this all had started, before I had seen Nico again.

Now it all made sense. The Grey Lady was a ghost, and the man in my bed was the Ghost King. That made sense. Lady Hera, the diadem, told me of my other mate. And the Deathly Hollows was a symbol of death.

A Son of Hades and a vampire as a mate. Death in common with both, and I held their lives, their hearts, in my hands. I was their master just as they were mine.

There was an odd acceptance in me at these thoughts.

It surprised me, though, considering that I knew this really wasn't the time for me to find love and mate bonds. I had wanted to wait, to get my two mates together and to try and figure out this together.

Something else odd was that I was never one to give up control even if I found it freeing. I was not someone who did something so spontaneously.

I wasn't a fool; I knew the pull, this bond, between us was the reason we had done this. That this bond between us was solid and complete. I had no regret of it, but I knew I wouldn't have just jumped into it.

There was something tugging at my mind with this thought. Why did this just so suddenly happen? The ice tugged my memories back to the acceptance of Kronos, of Luke, and my eyes widened.

This pull between me and Nico was like the one with Luke. But I had resisted it because it wasn't overwhelming…like the pull the creature had with me.

The ice began to settle again within me but not like before.

I didn't see my sudden bond with Nico as one I regretted; I knew that Aphrodite probably had something to do with this, and probably Hera too. I felt something else too; not just the pull and the feelings, but a finality. Sureness.

Something like Em and Rose had. Jasper had shared with me once how the pull felt between their completed bonds. Official, blessed.

I accepted it, so there wasn't really any force to it. Just a rush…

It would have happened eventually, I knew, but I was beginning to hate that the two of us had been forced by the overpowering pull to complete it now.

They must have been so desperate.

I must have scared them with the illusion creature.

I hated that they rushed us, but I was glad that the fear was gone. I was glad that pull made me come to terms with the fear, with the running.

The only bad thing was that it was creating something else in me too.

A fear that if they forced an early bonding, even though I didn't object to the bonding, what else would they make me do?

The bonding had made me free, had made me choose to me for the first time, and I knew with this…with what they did last night…I would lose myself again.

How much longer till I went back to the Isabella who shoved herself deeper and deeper inside of her that she need the ice to stay sane? The same girl who pushed away Percy and Nico and hurt them, who kept losing herself and couldn't take care of herself?

I couldn't do that again. This fear, building up, made me afraid to stay here. Staying would mean that I would turn into _her_ again.

I needed to leave. I needed to leave this Isabella behind. I needed…needed..

The pull from last night was back, a different kind but the same. I had this intense need not for Nico, that pull, bond, was sated. It was humming contentedly.

I needed Jasper.

The sudden realization made the fear of the gods again rise. It wasn't just Nico that they increased the pull for. It was Jasper, my other mate.

The need for him began to start overwhelm me just like last night with Nico, and the acceptance I had gained, the one that was all me, started to come back.

I needed to stop running. I needed to claim what was mine.

I needed to put Isabella first.

With Jasper, I knew I could always do that because he would be there to keep me in check. Jasper would know what I needed; he would know I was tired of taking care of others, that I needed _me. _

I needed Jasper.

I needed Isabella, and Jasper would help.

I didn't even realize that I had gotten out of the bed and was dressed until I turned around and looked at a sleeping Nico.

Seeing him sleeping didn't really bring back the fear of losing myself, the bond, while stated, needed him.

But while I accepted it, and the ice started to creep back in and my thoughts started coming back, battling with the need for jasper, of the pull, of the bond, of the need to be Isabella.

The clearness of my mind brought with it something else. A question of did I know what to do with Nico.

We were bonded.

Nico and I.

A Son of Hades and a Daughter of Poseidon.

Two children of the Great Prophecy.

If I stayed, would they use him against me? Me against him?

The ice was telling me that I needed to leave him here.

If I wanted to be free, away from the war, away from the gods, away from Kronos, Luke, the Prophecy, that meant I had to leave my mate behind with the rest of it.

The ice started to whisper other things to me. Percy wouldn't leave the war. Nico may have been willing to follow me to the ends of the earth, to choose me, and I knew he would, but I also knew something else. Something that he tried to hide, something that he tried to get through me.

Acceptance.

I had seen him when he first got here.

Nico was just like Percy now. A hero of Camp Half-Blood. Without him, we wouldn't have known about Luke, about the invasion. He was the reason Percy and I survived the Labyrinth. He helped save camp from the invasion.

The ice started whispering that he would have the camp now. What did he need me for?

_But I am his mate_, it thought. Nico begged me not to run from him anymore.

I didn't want to run; I didn't want to leave him.

I didn't want to leave Percy. Every time I did, the hole inside of me came back and hurt. It ached, and I needed him. I hated being away from him when I lived in Forks for those few months, but I had endured because I had too. I didn't now…did I?

But the pull for Jasper was getting stronger.

The fear of being used, of turning back into the caged Isabella, was started to gain more power over me.

In a last attempt for whatever the fuck the ice wanted, it whispered to me, _Nico and Percy will bring her back. You will go into the shadows again…you will become what they want. And who will you hurt now? Who will die while you fall? Make the choice Nico begged of you. Make your choice, for you. How many times did he tell you to put yourself first? Who are you?_

Who was I?

Was I the girl who put others first, shoving herself down so far, so deep, that everyone around her suffered for it? The one who put her brother and her mate in danger because she couldn't figure herself out?

Or was I the girl that was with Nico? The girl who vowed last night to be free? The girl who I let loose?

Would she really come back if I let myself stay and fall again?

They wanted me to be her…they forced a bonding between me a Nico early because they were scared of me abandoning them.

They wanted me to sacrifice myself so they would be saved. That is why they gave me Nico, another demi-god who hadn't sided with Kronos—who wouldn't. They controlled me so much…what else did they decide for me? What other choices did they make for me?

The ice spread and so did the fear of being used, of being lost, of being that broken girl that Kronos warned me about.

That fear combined with the need for Jasper overwhelmed me faster than it had last night, but I the bond toward Nico was strong, and I heard his voice pleading with me, begging me not to run from him.

I went to the desk on the end of Percy's bed and was relieved to find some paper there. I pulled out one of my pens, pens that reminded me of Nico's…

I quickly wrote a note.

_No more running. I choose Isabella. Thank you for freeing her…_

I just hoped he understood that I couldn't stay here, not with him, not with the war hanging over us.

With that, I was out the door as I heard him stir. As I was down the steps and on the dock behind the cabin, I felt him waking up. I jumped into the water, desperate to be gone before he ran out here and called to me.

Gods know that I would stay. Fuck freedom, if he needed me, if he wanted me, I would stay.

I felt guilty; how could I have promised to stop running if I just did that? Nico needed me as much as I needed him, but I still left!

I hated myself then, but the pull to Jasper, the ice, was becoming too strong.

I was scared. The fear was coming back. If I stayed, they would take me again. They would control me.

Jasper could protect me. Jasper could keep me safe from their sacrifice. He wuld keep me away from Percy and Nico. All I ever did was hurt them, the memory of Percy and his pain during the battle drove me further. I was the reason that Percy got hurt, that Percy could have died if that monster bitch had struck him different or he landed wrong.

As I snuck down into the water the fierceness of the emotions lessened (I knew my father was protecting me), this clearness of mind caused me to close my eyes and pray to my father, who hasn't always been there for me, with all my might.

_I have never asked you for anything for myself, but I'm scared, _daddy_. Help me. Take me away from their influence, take me to Jasper. Help me free myself. Take me away from Percy and Nico, before I get them killed. Please,_ I begged in my prayer.

I felt a sadness but deep love, and I knew he heard me. I knew my father hated what was going on as his love mixed with his power filled me.

Before I knew it, I was in another body of water altogether. My awareness of water told me I was in a little lake with a waterfall. The waterfall came from a stream that continued north until it hit the sea.

I could already feel Jasper, and I knew he was aware of me.

As my head broke the surface, I saw Em and Rose sitting near the edge of the water to my right (the waterfall was behind me). Rose was sitting on a blanket reading a book while Em just sat at the edge with his feet in the water, but he was soaked, so I knew he had gone swimming.

As they looked at me, my eyes were on Jasper. My mate was sitting against at rock to my left, there was a book next to him as well, but it was already down beside him as I had his full attention.

The pull, the fear, all of it slammed back into me as I left my father's protection.

Rose gasped, and I barely heard Em ask about the blood staining my clothes which still bore all the cuts, slices, and wounds I had suffered before.

My eyes were only on Jasper.

As I came out of the water, I felt my father's power weaken even further. Coming out, I could feel just how tired my body was, and it didn't help that all these emotions were weighing me down.

I struggled to make it the four, maybe five, feet to Jasper on my unsteady feet.

Jasper, just like Nico did, was treating me like a frightened, wounded animal. The blonde demi-vamp in front of me sat up slowly as I made my way to him, falling to my knees when I finally got to him.

The emotions were suffocating me now. The intensity of the pull, the need to bond was almost overwhelming as the fear of losing myself. Of hurting the others that I couldn't bear to lose in the process.

Yes, the ice was right. If I let myself fall again, then I probably would get Percy killed. Nico as well. Staying would hurt them more than leaving

Jasper slowly took me in his arms, bringing me into his lap, whispering to me with his comforting voice that he was here. Asking me to tell he what was wrong. What could he do?

"Please," I begged, and I knew it hurt him to hear me beg this way, "make it go away. Make _them_ stop. I don't want to fall...I want to be Isabella."

I knew he didn't understand. How could he? When I was with him, I didn't even know I had a problem! And here I was begging Jasper for something he probably didn't know what to give because how could he? How could he know what they did? How could he know what I did?

How could he know what I _needed? _Either the freedom or the bond?

I didn't know how to tell him though because everything was becoming too much for me; I couldn't think anymore. I couldn't even tell who was who. _Them_, the ice, or my own voice.

How could Jasper know what I needed when I was probably crippling him with my emotions?

I couldn't get anything right! Here I was, trying to get Jasper to help me, to protect the others, and I was hurting him!

But I underestimated him because he shut off all the shouting in my head with a kiss. A gentle one that always calmed me.

And when I was somewhat calm, the bond-pull being fed but started to come back, he pulled back for a second, letting me breath, before he growled and took possession of my mouth, of me, of everything that I was.

Just like last night with Nico, I found relief in not having to make the decisions.

Jasper was taking care of me; he was making the voices go away and replacing them with him.

~TOTG~

Before her head broke the surface of the water, Jasper felt her. Her emotions were muted as if the water was a buffer, but when she came up, bit by bit, the buffer started leaving her.

Soon, the Son of Athena was slammed with her fear, her guilt, her shame, and a bit of self-disgust. It was after he identified those that his eyes almost narrowed when he realized what the most overpowering thing was, that matched the fear but was getting stronger the moment their eyes met.

The mate bond between them was in full swing—as if that was the one need in all of her body.

Jasper had never felt something so strong before.

He heard Em say something about the blood. Of course Jasper smelt the blood on her clothing, but it was dried and she had no wounds, so he wasn't really worried about it. No, her emotions were his main focus.

There was something there, though, with the pull that she held to him. Jasper could feel the compulsion in it. Like before, when Rose had told him that she had a spell on her that forced a love between her and this Luke.

Those bastards were fucking with his mate. They were forcing her to bond with him.

Jasper wanted to growl and tear them apart, but first he had to take care of his mate.

She came first.

Always and Forever.

The demi-vamp treaded carefully with her, going slowly even at a human pace. She was already less than a step away from a full meltdown. Unhurriedly and gently, when she fell to her knees in front of him. Jasper gathered her to him, cradling her in his lap, wrapping his arms around her.

Jasper knew that as her mate, his voice was calm her, he spoke to her, softly, reassuring her. While he understood the bond-pull, there were others that he didn't understand at all.

The blonde empath knew that the fear was not directed at him, at the bonding, mating, but it was something else.

Jasper had no doubt that the "make it go away" was the bond-pull intensity. As he held her, it started to lessen a bit, but it wasn't going away at all. It didn't seem to be getting worse from what it felt, but...

The fear, though, Jasper had no doubt it was her what she begged of him, that hurt a lot. The only begging he wanted to hear from that gorgeous mouth of her, hear changing her voice, was to beg him for his cock. But here, now? She was begging him to make those bastards stop fucking with her.

Yes, that made more sense. The fear was for them controlling her no doubt. His mate's other words about falling and wanting to be herself...those were a bit different, but he guessed it had to do with her fear. She was afraid of them using her, and in doing so, change her.

Yes, he understood her quite well. Jasper had felt those same emotions when he had been drug into a war by those selfish bastards back when he was human.

Though he was focused solely on his mate, he heard Rose tell him that he needed to finish the mate bond to help her.

Jasper hated that they were mating under such conditions, but he had told his little mate that the next time they met, he wouldn't be able to stop himself.

The thought of claiming what was his, making sure no male every came near her and tried to take her away, of claiming her to protect her from all that would wish her hurt, brought out his own instincts.

Jasper kissed his mate, gently, as if he wanted to show her that he cared before he wouldn't have much control over himself. His beast would come out, and as a demi-god, she could take it rough and liked a bit of pain, he knew that their mating wouldn't be easy. So he wanted her to know, and he showed her, in that first kiss, that he did care, that he loved her.

It calmed her and the bond-pull enough that she leveled out.

When the bond-pull started to come back, intensify, Jasper let himself go, letting his mate's emotions, the mating pull, and his instincts take him over.

Jasper slammed his lips onto hers, dominating her just like he had in the truck a month ago (had it only been a month)?

They both relished her submission to him. To reward her, he nipped at her lips, a bit too hard because he drew blood, but she moaned when he licked the blood off of her.

Her moan drove him to grip her hips tight and slam her covered pussy over his hardened cock. Honestly, he had missed her body against his. It was all he could think about after he had almost had her in his truck.

Just thinking about his mate had gotten him hard while she was away. It always ended in him having to grip his dick tight and imagine what he wanted to do to her, tugging and moving his hand faster trying to cum as he imagined that he was pounding into his mate's tight, wet and scorching hot pussy. The only way to get rid of it was to imagine his little mate as he work his cock to completion. Alice had tried to take advantage every time he got hard. She only got close a few times, and feeling the female who was not his mate close to him or even seeing her was enough to deflate him.

But now he had his beautiful mate beneath him.

Jasper didn't take the time to tease her as he wanted or prepare her as much as he had originally planned because of that damn bond-pull.

To make up for it, as he lifted her over his cock, teasing them both with the tip of his member touching the outer shell of her pussy, he used his gift to flood her with his sex-cocktail mix. Immediately, his sexy little mate threw her head back, her black and white hair (Jasper was too absorbed to really explore the new hair color) and cried out as she cummed over his pulsing dick. While she was overwhelmed with her orgasm and dripping onto the head of his cock, he shoved her down onto him as he thrusted up into her.

A pained cry tore from her mouth, but he could feel the pleasure was winning out as he stretched her tight, wet channel.

Fuck, none of his waking fantasies ever did justice to the feeling of her him filling her. Jasper may have been lost in the claiming, but he did remember that Isabella wasn't used to a cock pounding into her, so Jasper took it slow as he pulled out (when lifting her off him, she whimpered at the loss of their connection) and pushed back in.

The empath couldn't stop completely, not with the all-consuming need to finish the mate bond from both of them echoing through him, but he tried to push into her gentle and slow.

His mate wasn't having it though, as the need for more was pressing into her, filling her.

As she begged me, the right kind of begging this time, Jasper gave her what she wanted.

Not just in his lap, though. Fuck, he had forgotten what it felt like to be a vampire who got lost in the lust and sex. Too long had he been playing "house" with Alice. No, he remembered back when he was traveling with Peter, the intense, days spent fucking. Never stopping. With Alice, they screwed like humans in almost every way.

But here? Jasper just couldn't stop. He couldn't stop enjoying her body.

After he made them cum with her riding his lap, he picked her up, flipped her around on her knees, before diving into that tight, heat again. Fuck, Jasper couldn't get enough of her.

He lost count of how many times she came, and after a while, he couldn't tell if she was begging for more or begging to stop.

Before he did stop, which was when she passed out, he had on her back, up against the tree (from behind and with those legs around him); hell, he even had her on her back.

When she did pass out, Jasper was actually breathing hard.

If this was how sex was when she was human, he wondered how it would be when he turned her. Neither needed to stop for food, bathroom breaks, or for resting (not that they stopped for anything but the last this time), but that was a whole different matter. They had never talked about her changing...

As he watched her sleep, exhausted, he saw how peaceful she looked. It only brought back the anger from before. How freaked out she was when she came out of the water. Jasper had never wanted to see her so scared, so frightened. It went against his every instinct.

Isabella was his mate, she was his to protect, to love.

Jasper would always regret not going with her, but he couldn't change that. Now, all he could was stay with her and never leave her.

~TOTG~

Aphrodite was so frustrated. Why would nothing go right? How could the Goddess of Love forget about the vampire?

Honestly, neither she nor Hera thought when they greatly increased the bond-pull that the girl would leave Nico, the one that would tie Isabella to them, and go to her other mate.

Honestly, Aphrodite should have known that, but she hadn't really thought about it because she figured the vampire would have already mated with the girl. So sexual were those creatures especially when they met their mate. The need to claim was so strong...the demi-vamp should have claimed her as soon as he smelled her and identified her as such.

(Not that Aphrodite ever thought that if she had mated with the vampire then none of this shit would have happened in the first place as he would have never left his mate, but it had been awhile she helped create those creatures...)

Either way, the girl fully bonded with her mates made her stronger, so two goddesses knew that she would be an even more powerful ally now. And the Daughter of Poseidon was still tied to Nico, so it was only a matter of time before the bond would be too painful, and she would return to him.

Hera nodded to the other Goddess, one she usually looked down upon (especially after the whole Apple and Dido situations); their job was complete.

The girl was bonded with the demi-god that would keep her on their side. She would fight for them and win the war against the Titan Lord.

If only they had paid attention and stayed away from the girl and didn't interfere because, in the end, they walked right into Kronos' trap. They forced bonded these three earlier than Fate had planned and thrown her into warzone that she should have never been in her state—a state they were responsible for. A state that ended up crippling her and fucking them over.

The saying you make your own Fate had never been truer for the gods because of what Hera and Aphrodite set in motion, and later on, unleashed.


End file.
